Sports Minister, Justin Tkatchenko has stood firm saying having the 7th PNG Games in March of this year was always the plan.
Speaking at the press conference on the deferral of the Games to November, Tkatchenko said it was a big disappointment for him personally.
“I would have loved to have it in March. That was what I told the CEO of the PNG Sports Foundation, Peter Tsiamalili Jr. to stick to the dates and get the Games going.
“But after reviewing all these issues like the venues and weather, it just would have made it very very difficult to host the PNG Games in March of this year,” said Tkatchenko.
“For me, I wanted the games to continue. We were working forward to the Games to be in March this year and of course, this would have been a good lead up to the new government to move on from once elected,” said Tkatchenko.
This is the second time the 7th PNG Games have been deferred. The new dates set are for November 18- December 2 of this year.