India's Games Fall Short of Lofty Ambitions

[BanglaBhoot]

By AMOL SHARMA

NEW DELHI—India exceeded the world's low expectations for the Commonwealth Games after a chaotic run-up to the athletic event, but the organizers fell far short of their goals of showcasing the nation's progress and burnishing its global image.

The Games, which brought together 71 nations and territories including Britain and its former colonies, wrapped up Thursday evening with a closing ceremony that dazzled the capacity crowd of 60,000 at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. It featured big-name pop musicians, martial artists and thousands of dancers.

The show capped 11 days of relatively incident-free sporting action, a huge relief to the nation after India's tardy and lackluster preparations. The worst fears of foreign sports officials in the days leading up to the start—that venues wouldn't be fully ready for competitions or that countries would withdraw over concerns about hygiene and health—weren't realized. The Games went ahead, and there were great moments.

But they didn't come close to achieving the lofty ambitions India set when it won the rights to host them in 2003. The event was supposed to be a moment to show off the country's rising economic stature, share its culture with the world, and shatter the notion that India is a place where big-ticket infrastructure projects run way behind schedule. It was also an audition if India one day bids to host the Olympics.

Instead, the first impression India made with the Games was widely viewed as humiliating. The country needed an 11th-hour push to finish major sporting venues and then clean up the ****** apartments some athletes and foreign officials found when they arrived late last month. Competitions proceeded on schedule, but there were continued logistical problems. A ticketing debacle led to a shortage of spectators in many venues even when they were officially listed as sold out.

Some big-name athletes who planned their tournament schedules months in advance chose not to come to New Delhi, reducing the level of competition in events ranging from track to tennis. The influx of foreign tourists that India expected to take in Delhi's sites and sounds—centuries-old monuments, restaurants and concerts by Bollywood singers—never really materialized because of all the bad publicity ahead of the event.

"They got their act together at the last minute, but that's no good," said Abhimanyu Bhandari, an Indian lawyer who advises multinational companies on corporate transactions. "It's still caused deep embarrassment to the nation."

Mike Fennell, president of the U.K.-based Commonwealth Games Federation, which oversees host country arrangements, was a loud critic of India's poor preparations for the Games before they started, but struck a more positive note Thursday, saying New Delhi had done better than expected in some areas, especially security, even as foreign officials hadmid complaints about housing, transportation and other issues.

"People have had to deal with issues, there's no denying that, but the end result has been good," Mr. Fennell said at a news conference.

After the Games' spectacular opening ceremony on Oct. 3, many Indians began rallying to support them. After all the negative publicity India got internationally, "Indians wanted to take revenge on the world—and say, 'How can you say all these bad things about our country?' " said Suvrangsu Mukherjee, head of India operations for sports marketing firm Total Sports Asia.

Indians rejoiced as they watched their countrymen win 38 gold medals, second only to Australia, with victories in shooting, wrestling, badminton, boxing, and their first Commonwealth Games medal in gymnastics, a bronze in the men's floor exercise. It was an impressive performance given what many athletes say is the country's meager financial and organizational support for sports.

Some Delhi locals who attended events said they were happy the Games left behind new infrastructure in the city, including a metro train with many more stations than before, a brand-new airport terminal, and several totally new sporting venues that were built very late, but at a high quality.

"This is wonderful for the citizens of Delhi, because all these facilities will be here for the long term," said Alka Garg, a physics professor at Delhi University.

Still, many Indians are furious at the Games organizers, including Organizing Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi, for the hit India's image took globally, and want to see top officials held accountable. Mr. Kalmadi on Thursday maintained the same optimistic, even defiant, tone he has had for several weeks.

"We faced up to the challenges," he said. "My senior management delivered a great Games."

Some athletes and foreign officials complained of health problems along the way—8% of England's team had a stomach bug at one point or another—and of being more or less locked into the Games Village, because of difficulties finding good transportation and security concerns. Others were happy with the accommodations New Delhi made and praised the country's warm hospitality.

India's Games Fall Short of Lofty Ambitions - WSJ.com

 

[Goodperson]

Why you pick anti India news from Indian media and Paint India as negative Mr Cookie jar guy?

Delhi has delivered a truly exceptional Games: Fennell

New Delhi: Marred by series of controversies in the build-up, the Delhi Commonwealth Games today got the ultimate pat on the back from the CGF chief Michael Fennell, who declared the mega-event as "truly exceptional".

Delivering his address during a spectacular and colourful closing ceremony, Fennell said, "Today, we bring down curtains on 19th CWG Delhi. Delhi, you have delivered a truly exceptional Games.

"Security, transport and other services have been of highest quality. The venues were world class and it was a truly outstanding show by the athletes."

"The athletes have demonstrated their skills and sporting personalities brought different cultures together. Athletes from 71 countries contested for 826 medals in the true spirit of friendship. Several Commonwealth Games records were broken, including two world records. Some have created new national records," he added.

Fennell said the "successful" hosting of the Games will leave behind a rich legacy for Delhi.

"The Organising Committee overcame all obstacles and presented a successful Games. Delhi has now a rich legacy, the wold class venues and improved city structure. It has presented itself as a world class city. The world will have a better understanding of this wonderful country and its potential now," said the Jamaican.

"Now we set our eyes on 2014 Glasgow Games and look forward to athletes participating in all events in large numbers," said Fennell.

Fennell thanked the Centre and Delhi government for providing the necessary resources and the OC for the hard work in delivering the Games.

"I thank the Organising Committee, led by Mr (Suresh) Kalmadi and (Delhi Chief Minister) Sheila Dikshit for the hard work they have put in. I also thank the Delhi and the national governments for the resources they have provided," he said.

Fennell also named Jamaican woman triple jumper Trecia Smith for the David Dixon Award, given to the outstanding athlete of the CWG based on their performance, fair play and overall contribution to their team's participation in the Games.

Delhi has delivered a truly exceptional Games: Fennell

 

[Bhushan]

Commonwealth Games 2010: Delhi event hailed a success

Commonwealth Games chief Mike Fennell hailed Delhi 2010 a success despite the event getting off to a troubled start.

The Games overcame concerns on security and infrastructure to end with a lively closing ceremony, as the hosts' mantle was officially passed to Glasgow 2014.

"Delhi has performed," said Fennell. "The competition has gone well, the venues were of a high standard and the athletes are happy.

"We had to deal with a number of issues but the end result has been good."

Fennell conceded that the decision to award the Games to Delhi had been questioned in many quarters as preparations fell behind schedule.

MATTHEW PINSENT'S BLOG
The best realistic legacy that I can hope for is that the Commonwealth Games of 2010 mark the emergence of India as a power at future big sporting events

There were serious problems with the athletes' village and certain venues, while other setbacks included a collapsed pedestrian footbridge, ticketing confusion, poor crowds and big-name withdrawals.

But Fennell maintained that Delhi deserved the chance to stage its first multi-sport event since the 1982 Asian Games and insisted it had proved a worthy host.

"Before the Games people were asking me 'why are you going to India? Why are you going to Delhi? When are you going to cancel the Games?'," he said.

"But we felt it was our job to fix what was wrong not give up. A year out from the Games people asked 'what is your Plan B?' I said 'our Plan B is Delhi'.

"I don't blame the media for exposing what had to be exposed. It was important to expose some of the fundamental problems and that helped. It helped us to get action going in some areas.

COMMONWEALTH MEDALS TABLE
Gold medals and total medals won:
1. Australia 74 gold, 177 overall
2. India 38, 101
3. England 37, 142
4. Canada 26, 75
5. South Africa 12, 33
10. Scotland 9, 26
13. Northern Ireland 3, 10
15. Wales 2, 19

"People have seen an extremely positive image of the Games through television, right across the world."

Fennell accepted that a tough task lay ahead in persuading top athletes - such as Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt - to fit the Games into their calendars in the future after opting not to compete in Delhi.

"We have to look at the timing of our event - October is the end of the season for track and field athletes - and a lot of athletes were put off by the reports on a lack of preparedness and chose to pull out," he said.

"Also in hindsight I think more could have been done to mobilise spectators as it was disappointing that in the early days of the Games a lot of stands were empty.

"We have to make sure we present the Games in a more positive way and rebuild that demand in the lead-up to Glasgow 2014."

We're hosting the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, let's get the Scots out, cheering the home team on and hopefully we'll see some outstanding performances from the Scottish team

Glasgow 2014 chief executive John Scott

Delhi 2010 organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi was jeered at the start of his closing speech, but remained upbeat in his assessment of the Games.

"For the athletes it has been a life-changing experience. For India it has been a new beginning in sports," he told a capacity crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

"For the world it has been evidence of what India can do on the sporting stage. This is a new era for Indian sport. All this has made what has turned out to be the largest, the most watched and the most enjoyable Games ever.

"A month ago, questions were being asked whether the Games would be held at all. We drew inspiration from [India's first prime minister Jawaharlal] Nehru: 'Success does not come suddenly or without setbacks'."

Kalmadi, who called the experience an "amazing journey in the face of series of roadblocks", added: "We remained committed to our task. We have learnt a lot and continue to learn.

JAMES PEARCE'S BLOG
I really do believe that Delhi has exceeded most expectations. Of course there have been problems but the end result was well worth waiting for

"The Games displayed India's ability to stand up and show the world what we can achieve, despite being faced with adversity. This is not the end. In fact this is just the beginning."

The two-and-a-half hour closing ceremony - a dance, music and fireworks spectacular attended by India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prince Edward - gave a finishing sparkle to the 11-day event.

Archer Nicky Hunt, who won two gold medals, carried England's flag and shooter Jon Hammond did the honours for Scotland after becoming his country's most prolific medal-winning athlete in a single Games with four.

Rob Weale, who won gold on Wednesday and now has a Games record six lawn bowls medals, took Wales' flag and silver medallist Steven Ward of Northern Ireland, part of the most successful boxing team at the Games, was his country's carrier.

Following Kalmadi's speech, the Commonwealth Games flag was officially handed over to Scotland and Glasgow 2014 chief executive John Scott outlined his aims.

A team of Scottish performers then wowed the crowd with a modern take on their country's heritage. It was full of music, colour and dance, with kilt-clad bagpipe players and even a mock Loch Ness monster.

GORDON FARQUHAR'S BLOG
There are people here who have learned a huge amount about staging major sporting events - The expertise they have gleaned needs to be capitalised upon and consolidated

"Indians have been doing very well here and that's great for India to be succeeding," said Scott. "This is the one thing we want to give to Scotland.

"We're hosting the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, let's get the Scots out, cheering the home team on and hopefully we'll see some outstanding performances from the Scottish team."

The ceremony followed a day of competition in which India won a late badminton gold to leapfrog England into second place in the final medals table.

India's athletes performed beyond all expectations, with highlights including a memorable triumph for their women's 4x400m relay team and 10 wrestling golds.

Yet Australia were comfortably the most successful nation with 74 golds to India's 38 and England's 37. Scotland were 10th with nine golds, Northern Ireland 13th with three and Wales 15th with two.

Australian Alicia Coutts claimed five golds in the pool, while compatriot and fellow swimmer Leisel Jones collected the 10th Commonwealth gold of her career.

"Yes, a lot of top competitors were missing," said BBC athletics commentator Steve Cram. "But there were some undoubted talents coming to the fore here in Delhi and a sprinkling of world-class stars.

"It would be nice if more of the nations supported it. The Commonwealth Games has a valid place in world sport."

 

[Bhushan]

Did Delhi live up to expectations?

James Pearce | 06:48 UK time, Thursday, 14 October 2010

It is easy to forget as these Games draw to a close that they came fairly close to never happening at all.

Even Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the Delhi organising committee, admitted to me earlier this week that, at the height of all the problems with the athletes' village, he had feared that some teams would withdraw.

So, it's been quite an adventure over the past month for all of us involved in this project - organisers, team officials, competitors and media.

It's always difficult to know how to measure the success of any event like this. For example is it really fair to compare Delhi with Melbourne, the host city in 2006? Australia has such vast experience in putting on major events, whereas these are India's first multi-sport event since the 1982 Asian Games.

Perhaps a more reasonable question is: Did Delhi manage to do more than the rest of the world predicted?

In the fortnight before the Games began, the athletes' village was described as uninhabitable, a footbridge had collapsed, hardly any tickets had been sold and, above all, there were major concerns about security.

Even a year before, those same fears existed about security, and the building of competition venues was so far behind schedule that even some experts genuinely believed that they would never be ready on time.

Whichever way you look at it, expectations were low. People acknowledged that, as Mr Kulmadi said when I spoke to him, "A Third World Games would present unique challenges."

Now let's look at what actually happened.

Security was by far the most serious concern and I don't think that anybody who has been in Delhi would feel any more could have been done.

Wherever you look around this city there are people in uniforms carrying guns. You can't go anywhere of note without passing through airport-style scanners. More than 100,000 security personnel have been deployed. It's been impressive, and so far very successful.

What about the athletes' village? It was a massive embarrassment for the organisers that some competitors had to delay their arrival in Delhi but all the athletes that I spoke to praised it.

Maybe that has something to do with low expectations, but some veterans of past Games described it as the best that they had seen.

That brings me on to the footbridge and worries about safety around the venues. The collapse of part of a ceiling at the weightlifting arena had also raised concerns.

Since the Games began, there have been no problems, or at least no injuries anyway. Yes, a scoreboard collapsed at the rugby sevens ground, but that was days before the competition started there.

Most of the venues have actually been very impressive, and, again, the feedback from athletes has been positive.

Finally, to tickets: never before have I seen such a change in atmosphere as a Games has progressed. The first few days were terrible - at times hardly a spectator in sight. But the past few days have been remarkable.

From boxing to hockey to athletics to table tennis, the venues have been packed out. If the reason for taking the Commonwealth Games to Delhi was to encourage the people of India to support new sports, then without any doubt at all these Games have been a resounding success.

I was in the main stadium with Lord Coe on Tuesday night when the Indian women's team won the 4x400 metres relay - the first track gold for India at a Commonwealth Games since 1958.

There wasn't a spare seat in the house, and the noise was deafening. Lord Coe described it to me as "potentially the moment that could change the course of athletics in Asia, the moment that could inspire thousands of people who'd never even seen an athletics track before to get involved".

That was a bold statement, but it illustrated the importance of the bigger picture. As Lord Coe said: "To build a truly global capacity in sport, you have to take it round the world - out of your own backyard. That means taking risks and facing challenges, but it has to be done."

I really do believe that Delhi has exceeded most expectations. Of course there have been problems. I said in a TV report that maybe the slogan for these Games should have been 'Better Late than Never'.

The end result, though, was well worth waiting for. Just to look at the excited faces in the crowds, to see the sense of pride in Indian success, made everything seem so worthwhile.

There's no doubt that Delhi has many lessons to learn from the Commonwealth Games experience, but isn't that part of the point of giving the Games to a city like Delhi?

Personally, I've really enjoyed my time in Delhi. It's my first visit here and it's been far better than I had expected. Maybe I, like some of the athletes who decided to stay away, had been too quick to believe some of the scare stories.

 

[JamesBond]

@ all the naysayers/hatemongers/cynics etc.: