COMMONWEALTH GAMES SPORTS

Commonwealth Games Glasgow Roundup December 2011

2011-12-14T13:40:00.000+05:30

Commonwealth Games Scotland

Sports in Scotland has never been the same again after the after the announcement of the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow. The investments of millions of pounds has changed the face of Scotland and especially of Glasgow.

Sports clubs and intense training for various sports have become a hallmark of Scotland in the new decade. A community hubs program entails the establishment of spaces for sports in all of Scotland's 32 local authority areas. Sustainability of club sports has taken a high priority to encourage sports amongst youth and bring talent to the fore. It has been felt that sports talent must be identified in schools and proper training and facilities be extended to sports persons.

A case in point is Inch Park where 3 leading sports clubs have formed a charitable organization to run vastly enhanced facilities.

In order to create enthusiasm and a spirit of participation in communities that are not directly associated with sports Scotland has put into place various measures to ignite tourism and bring in people from other fields to be a part of the games' preparations. After all the revenue that will be generated from the Games will benefit the entire population in Scotland.

There are challenges to be dealt with as well. A facility near Edinburgh which caters to dry-slope sports enthusiasts has been in deficit and was scheduled for closure last year. Social media came to the rescue and a campaign on Facebook was launched which garnered mass support from the entire country and eventually Sportsscotland decided to bear the cost of saving the facility.

The presumption is that such efforts will have a good impact on sports across the United kingdom and spread awareness and enthusiasm amongst the people of Scotland also leading to an increase the commitment by the Government to enhance funding for sports.

GLASGOW IMPRESSES AHEAD OF CWG 2014

2011-05-31T23:50:00.001+05:30

GLASGOW IS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE FOR THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Commonwealth Games Associations appreciated the successful efforts to prepare for 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow during an inspection visit by the associations from Canada, New Zealand and England. Scotland and Wales Associations were also present during the visit. The visitors also went to take a look at the Games Village and venues in Glasgow. The three day visit was considered a crucial one as it familiarized the Associations with the men behind the great event and the state of the preparations.

Meanwhile work goes on in full swing in Glasgow for the preparations for the Commonwealth Games. The Hampden Stadium which will be used during the Games in Glasgow shall be undergoing a major renovation. The city is preparing architects by inviting submission of interest for this purpose. The renovation will include raining the existing pitch by 2 meters for building an athletics track over it and the creation of a track for warming up which will be made outside the stadium.

Sports stars have started appearing on the Commonwealth Games 2014 horizon 2 years ahead of the event to be held in 2014. Scottish champ David Jamieson said that he was eyeing the Commonwealth Games title after winning the Scottish Intermediate Championship. The young star started his boxing career just 2 years ago but hopes to move forward in the next 2 years and win at the event during the Commonwealth Games 2014.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES NEW DELHI : OPENING CEREMONY

2010-10-04T00:18:00.001+05:30

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

The Opening Ceremony for the 19th Commonwealth Games in New Delhi began with a marchpast with participants from all 71 countries showing their colorful best. The marchpast began with the first country alphabetically, Antigua and the last country to bring up end of the list of visiting countries was Zambia.The host Indian team was the last to do the marchpast. Some of the larger contingents were from countries like Canada, UK and South Africa.

The marchpast was followed by a welcome speech by Suresh Kalmadi the head of the Indian Olympic Committee. Due to the controversies that surrounded the preparations for the Games, he was booed by the audience when he began his speech but he carried on nonetheless and announced the arrival of the Commonwealth Games Baton. Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation was next to give a short speech. The third speech was given by Dr Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister of India.

The Baton was brought in by the India's Gold medallist in shooting, Abhinav Bindra.Sushil Kumar, the famous Indian wrestler handed it over to His Highness Price Charles.who declared the Commonwealth Games open after reading out a brief message from the Queen of England. Pratibha Patil, the President of India gave a speech highlighting the importance of sports. At the end of the speech she exclaimed," Let the Games begin!"

The show started with the a large Bodhi Tree coming up on the center stage with hundreds of dancers streaming out into the ground including Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam, Manipuri, Kathak, Bharatnatyam and Odissi dancers. The dances signified each season through the year. Next was a brilliant yoga performance which showed the different asanas and the kundalini which signifies the seven chakras. The Great Indian Journey by Indian Railways showed various cultural scenes from India and a representation of the diversity from the length and breadth of the country. 'Jiyo Utho Khelo' was sung by A R Rehman who also sang Jai Ho the globally famous number from the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

The $3 billion aerostat was the centerpiece of the entire show. The aerostat comprises of the largest helium balloon in the world suspended at a height of 25 meters from the ground. The 360 degree projection surface was used to display scenes and reflections from the entertainment events taking place on the ground.

The show was a grand success and made everyone present and millions who watched it on their screens at home forget about the troubles that the Games faced during the run up to the Opening Ceremony.

COMMONWEALTH VILLAGE: DOGS AND SNAKES

2010-09-27T00:46:00.000+05:30

SNAKES IN COMMONWEALTH GAMES VILLAGE

The Games Village had required a lot of work since it was not found to be clean enough. There were pictures published by the media showing dirty rooms and street dogs roaming around in the complex. Hundreds of staff were put to work so that the entire Commonwealth Village could be spruced up before the athletes start arriving for the Games.

However, the preparations received a jolt again today when a snake was found in one of the apartments which was going to be occupied by the South African contingent. This was a room where an athlete was about to arrive and start staying before the Commonwealth Games begin on October 3. The South African Commissioner called it a threat to the lives of their athletes. The cause was supposed to be the filth and the water-filled basement. Thankfully, the South Africans decided not to withdraw from partcipating in the Games although the Games have now been ridden with issues.

A dipstick check revealed that only 400 apartmets have been made fully ready out of a total of 1168 apartments in the Games Village. 7000 athletes will be staying in the Village and a lot needs to be done if India is serious about making the athletes comfortable. The Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit has played down tha lack of readiness and is still sure that in 3 days everything will be ready, having wasted the last 3 years.

However, it still cannot be said as to how many athletes will participate since there have been numerous security concerns and athletes pulling out due to purported health issues.

A SETBACK BEFORE COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010

2010-09-19T21:39:00.003+05:30

SHOOTOUT, HEALTH ADVISORY MAKE PEOPLE WARY

As the tempo toward opening the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi was picking up, there was a shooting incident on tourists near the Jama Masjid area in Old Delhi. The tourists were part of a Taiwanese group which was doing a sightseeing trip to the ancient part of the city. The shooters were on a motorbike and fled after the incident. The 2 Taiwanese tourists were seated inside coach when they were shot at by the motorbike riders. New Delhi is on a red alert after the incident and security has been further stepped up. Mumbai has also been put on a red alert to preempt any terror strikes in the city.

Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi has immediately given out a reassurance that there is nothing to worry about. Some of the participating countries including Australia, Canada and the UK had expressed concerns earlier pertaining to Security. It will remain to be seen what impact this incident will have on participant and tourist arrivals to New Delhi.

The Health Ministry in India has sounded out a health advisory for participants and visitors that influenza has reached its peak and will be on its way down. New Delhi has several people being reported every day having dengue fever which had been on the rise during the heavy monsoon showers. What you should look out for while traveling to India is a running nose, a sore throat, fever or any kind of pain. If you do seem to have any of the above symptoms you can seek help at the Help desk at the airport when you land in New Delhi. The Government has announced that any visitor or participant needing medical help will be treated free of charge.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES NEW DELHI : WORLD CLASS INFRASTRUCTURE

2010-09-17T01:19:00.000+05:30

NEW FACILITIES FOR THE BEST EVER CWG

The Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October 2010 will showcase some of the best facilities in the world. The first thing that you will notice as soon as you fly into New Delhi is the swanking new Airport terminal at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Airport is South Asia's busiest with a handling capacity of 6 million passengers and shall be capable of handling more than 100 million passengers by the year 2030. The Airport connects to Delhi by an eight-lane National Highway as well as the Delhi Metro network which will take you to the heart of the city.

Several flyovers and paved roads will aid you to travel through busy traffic without the need for a halt at traffic lights. New Delhi's traffic is the highest and the number of cars is said to be more than the combined total of Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. Connaught Place itself is being done up to reflect the aura of a city centre of a capital city. Numerous malls, starred hotels and restaurants in Delhi and the suburbs provide food and entertainment until late in the night.

Although some of the stadia took time to be made ready, they are undoubtedly world-class and amongst the best in the world. The venue for the netball events, Thyagaraj sports complex, where netball will take place, has been built with the latest green technology and is India's first green stadium. The Talkatora indoor stadium, where the boxing events will be held, is an exemplary gem located in the center of New Delhi. The velodrome at the Indira Gandhi sports complex is considered to be one of the best, comparable to the top-rated Beijing velodrome in terms of quality of construction.

The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex which will also host several sports events including Athletics and Weightlifting. It has a unique membrane roof which can provide excellent shelter for 60,000 spectators. The S. P. Mukherjee Swimming Stadium is a refurbished stadium with one competition pool which has 8 lanes, one diving pool; one warm-up pool with 6 lanes. The Siri Fort. The Delhi -Noida Expressway will be used for the cycling event

RAIL TICKETING WITH IRCTC

2010-09-15T23:28:00.001+05:30

GO TRAVELING BY TRAIN AFTER COMMONWEALTH GAMES

IRCTC has a premier direct ticket booking site at www.irctc.co.in. The site is used by hundreds of thousands of rail travellers to book their ticket online. In fact, it has one of the highest traffic amongst all Indian websites. You can use this facility between 8 am and 10 pm local time on all weekdays and Saturdays. On Sundays the online reservation is closed after 2 pm. The bookings can be done from 60 days out until a day before the date of the journey, for a maximum of 4 tickets per person. A small charge ranging from Rs 40 to Rs 60 is levied for the online reservation service.

One of the drawbacks of online reservation through IRCTC is that it has restricted delivery, only to domestic Indian passengers. If you live outside India, tickets will not be delivered to your address. However, you can book the tickets paying through your credit card and give a local address in India of a friend or relative and it will be delivered to that address within 3 days.

To use the online reservation facility, you need to register at the IRCTC site, www.irctc.co.in, giving your personal details including office and residential addresses. Credit card detail need not be given at this stage since this can be done while booking the tickets. There is a provision for giving a separate address for the tickets to be delivered which is different from the residential address.

The site is quite user-friendly though it could tend to be a bit slow at times. You need to put in the exact boarding and exit station codes for which you are assisted by a little yellow icon next to the 'from' and 'to' fields. On clicking the yellow icon you can type in the name known to you and it will generate the codes for that stations with similar names. You may choose the code for the station that is relevant to your travel. There is a 30% discount for Indians above the age of 60, but unfortunately this has not been extended to non-Indian passport holders. When all details are submitted for the booking, a Transaction ID and a 10 digits Passenger Name Record or PNR, will be generated. The PNR number is used to track the status of the ticket which is useful in case your ticket is waitlisted.

You need to carry your ticket with you while traveling by train in India. photocopies or scanned copies are not accepted.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES NEW DELHI : OPENING AWAITED

2010-09-14T23:38:00.004+05:30

CUTTING THE RIBBON

With the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi just a few weeks away, there is an anticipation of what to expect during the Opening Ceremony on October 3. The privilege of declaring the Games open is that of the Queen of England, but with the Queen not coming to India the role is now open. Recent contenders are the President of India, Ms Pratibha Patil and Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

With incessant rains this summer in New Delhi, there is an apprehension that rains may mar the Opening Ceremony. Lalit Bhanot, Secretary General of Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee recounted previous instances of rains not affecting opening ceremonies of sporting events. Some of the events he mentioned included the Seoul Asian Games in 1986, some of the Olympics and the Doha 2006 Games.

The famous music composer and singer, A R Rehman who has won Grammy and Oscar awards released the Commonwealth Games 2010 theme song, ‘Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto’. There were mixed reactions to the song with some feeling that it did not compare well with themes of recent sporting events like Shakira's 'Waka Waka', the runaway hit song composed for the FIFA World Cup 2010. A R Rehman has reportedly been paid a sum equivalent to over $1m, a grossly high amount for a single song.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding money spent in organizing the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, with the Organizing Committee coming for a lot of criticism and probes being promised after the Games to investigate charges of corruption. However, Lalit Bhanot said "As for the spending money is concerned, if you do all these big events, money is required to be spent. Since the opening ceremony will be watched by three billion people worldwide, I think projecting image of India is more important, we are doing that." Whether the statement will imply that the huge amounts of money spent on organizing the games are justified, only time will tell.

BRIEF HISTORY OF COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010

2010-08-01T23:36:00.001+05:30

In May 2003 India puts in its bid and the Games are awarded to New Delhi in November of the same year. New Delhi won over Hamilton in Canada with 46 votes to 22. previously, India had placed unsuccessful bids for the 1990 and again the 1994 Games.

In 2005, the Commonwealth Games 2010 Organizing Committee is formed with Suresh Kalmadi as its head. The Committee was scheduled as per plan to be formed in 2004, however it was delayed by 1 year.

"Namaste, see you again in Delhi 2010, Swagatam", was the message given at the 11-minute performance at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Melbourne Olympics. The performance was given by top Indian celebrities, Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherji and Saif Ali Khan and conveyed a vivid picture of India as a diverse cultures, varied landscape and a great historical heritage.

2007 say the beginning of the plan for construction of the Commonwealth Village for the Games to be held in October 2010 consisting of 1168 apartments and various facilities for the athletes attending the Games.

M S Gill took over as Sports Minister in 2008 to oversee the completion of preparations for the Games. There was an apprehension that preparations were moving at a snail's pace. M S Gill began work with a Group of Ministers working specially to work through diplomatic hurdles with the objective of speeding up the preparations.

In 2009, with barely a year to go for the Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010, Mike Fennell, Chairman of the Games Federation visits New Delhi but is disappointed with the efforts towards preparing for the Games.

We are now in 2010, with just 2 months to go before the Games. There are daily reports of frantic preparations that are on in order to complete readiness for hosting the Games. The deadlines for infrastructural facilities have been revised again and again, standing at August 31. The total expenditure has been more than ten times of what was projected.

INDIAN BOXERS WIN

2010-03-17T23:25:00.000+05:30

Indian boxers made a field day at the Commonwealth boxing event when Vijender Singh, the star Indian champion made it gold after a tough fight in the ring. It did give Vijender a bloody nose but it was well worth the huge effort he put in. Despite a bloody nose Vijender gave a thorough drubbing to Frank Buglioni of England at 13-3 in the final bout. The run for Indians started when one of the boxers got a walkover when Scott Johnson was retired hurt after an injured wrist.

Others who made it to the finals were Suranjoy Singh in the 52kg, gold medallist Amandeep Singh of South Asian Games in the 49kg, Jai Bhagwan of Asian silver medalist in 60kg and Paramjeet Samota in 91 kg. Indian boxers have been faring well in boxing matches ever since Vijender Singh clinched a bronze medal in the Olympics.

Vijender had won many medals in India before he went on to the international arena. After winning 2 silver medals for 2 years at the sub-junior level, he won many medals at the national level as well. went on to compete at the sub-junior nationals where he won a silver medal for two years in succession. After participating in the Asian Games in 2006 winning a bronze, he went on to win the bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics which also happened to be the first ever medal won in the Olympics won by an Indian boxer.

TERROR RETURNS ON RUN UP TO GAMES

2010-02-15T22:36:00.000+05:30

BLASTS RESUME IN WEST INDIA AFTER MUMBAI IN NOV 2008

Fourteen months after the ghastly Mumbai blasts in November 2008, terrorists struck again in Pune, a city in West India, 4 hours drive from Mumbai. Several have been killed and many more injured in the blasts. Uptil now, nine have been feared killed in the blast. The return of terror has cast a shadow of doubt on many sportsmen who have cringed at the blasts.

Lee Troop, star marathon runner of the Olympics, has said that he will go for the Games if he qualifies, but not his wife and child. He is scared that there may not be complete safety to guarantee that nothing will happen to his family. On the other hand, England's hockey team members are keen to go for the World Cup starting in New Delhi on February 28, perceived threat withstanding.

New Delhi is busy preparing fool-proof security for the games to be held in October this year. There had been no blasts after the last incident took place in November 2008 in Mumbai which shook the world due to the grisly attack in Tak Mahal hotel, one of India's finest hotels. The attack lasted almost 3 days in which terrorists were holed up in the hotel. Intelligence agencies and police in India swooped down on militant outfits and arrested its leaders which was the reason why there were no attacks for more than a year.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010 READINESS

2009-12-30T23:24:00.001+05:30

WILL NEW DELHI BE READY?

When the Beijing Olympics went successfully, India started gearing up for the next big sporting event, that is the Commonwealth Games to be held in October 2010. But with just 10 months to go there is a question mark over the readiness for the Games. Bureacratic red tape has ensured that deadlines have been missed for the different stages of preparations for the Games. In fact, as luck would have it, the recession also came at a time when funds were required by the local bodies towards the financing of the preparations. The main developers of the Games Village, Emaar MGF, had declared that they had been hit hard by the recession - they were not able to pay for their outsourced contracted work being carried for the Games.

In fact, as written on this site (Recall CEO and IOA vs CGF)the fight between Commonwealth federation Chief, Mike Fennell and the Games Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi came out into the open in September 2009. It took the intervention of the Home Minister and even the Prime Minister of India to settle the dispute by announcing that the preparations for the Games would complete in time. Suresh Kalmadi had gone to the extent of calling for the removal of Mike Hooper which was refused by Mike Fennell.

Meanwhile, the deadlines for completion of preparations for the Commonwealth Village has been postponed to March 2010 from December 2009. The main venues for the Games, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and SP Mukherji swimming complex, will be ready as per plan only by June 2010 which is very close to the staging of the Games in October 2010. Only time will tell whether the preparations will be complete before the beginning of the Commonwealth Games in October 2010.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2018: DOUBTS OVER GOLD COAST BID

2009-12-19T22:57:00.001+05:30

GOLD COAST TO BID FOR WORLD CUP

Gold Coast in Australia, a hot bidder for the Commonwealth Games in 2018, appears to be having self-doubts over it's bid for the Games. The primary reason is the Gold Coast bid for the World Cup for 2018 or 2022 which has a very high profile campaign supporting it. The Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, has made an announcement that Gold Coast may pull out its bid if they are successful at winning the World Cup bid.

Until now, Gold Coast had been a frontrunner amongst the bids for winning the hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Its competitors were the Nigerian capital Abuja, Trnidad's Port-of-Spain, Durban in South africa and Nairobi in Kenya. With the tremendous publicity and revenues associated with the Commonwealth Games, it is a much sought after sporting event for many countries that are interested in making the best out of international sporting events.

On the other hand the World Cup is the second largest sporting event after the World Olympics. The venues for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup events will be decided by December 2010.

COMMONEWEALTH GAMES VILLAGE NEW DELHI

2009-12-18T21:08:00.000+05:30

While Delhi is getting ready to host the Commonwealth Games in October 2010 the housing for athletes is being readied in the northeast part of Delhi. Situated to the picturesque Akshardham Temple, the village is spread over 158 acres of prime land just 20 minutes drive from the heart of New Delhi. The apartments being built are the most advanced housing space that the world has ever seen for Commonwealth Games. Built by Emaar MGF, a premium real estate developer, the Village can house 8500 people and has a mix of 2 to 5 bedroom apartments. The entire Village is internet connected through powerful wifi facility which will enable athletes round-the-clock connectivity to the internet.

The Village has easy access to all the games venues which fall within a 10-15 km radius from the area. The Yamuna river, one of the main rivers of India flowing down from the Hamalayas is adjacent also to the area. The city's primary rail network the Metro Railway passes from near the complex. One can reach any part of Delhi by using the extensive Metro Railway network. There are also plans to connect the main venue at Lodhi Road to the Games Village via a direct underpass which is being worked on.

The Asian Games hosted in 1982 in New Delhi had an Asian Games Village being built in the heart of south Delhi which is now one of the most sough after real estate in New Delhi. The luxurious apartments of the Asian Games Village are the some of the highest priced apartments in New Delhi.

SHOPPING IN INDIA

2009-11-24T12:37:00.000+05:30

UNIQUE INDIAN ITEMS TO BUY

1. Pashmina
2. Envelope for cash gifts
3. Leather jackets and purses
4. Precious stones
5. Silks
6. Dolls.
7. Shells
8. Statues

COMMONWEALTH - A BACKGROUND

2009-11-13T23:42:00.002+05:30

BACKGROUND OF THE COMMONWEALTH

The Commonwealth consists of sovereign countries which at some point in their history were part of the British Empire. According to the Oxford dictionary the noun Commonwealth, pronounced [kom-uhn-welth] a group of sovereign states and their dependencies associated by their own choice and linked with common objectives and interests: the British Commonwealth.

The first use of the term Commonwealth was in the 17th century when England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland came under what was known as the Commonwealth of England from 1649 to 1660.

The present Commonwealth is an association of 53 sovereign states which at some point in history may have been a part of the British Empire. The exceptions to this rule are Mozambique which was a Portuguese colony and Cameroon which was under part German, French and British rule.

The head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth II who is the also the head of government of the Commonwealth realm which consists of United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Barbados, New Zealand, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Suvalu.

The secretary-general of the Commonwealth is Kamalesh Sharma who is a former Indian diplomat. The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal administrative body which makes decisions for the Commonwealth. The combined population of the Commonwealth countries is 2 billion people. There are various Commonwealth Organisations which operate in different fields towards facilitation of development. The Commonwealth Foundation promotes professional associations and cultural activities. The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation takes up training and activities related to Telecommunications in Commonwealth Developing countries. The Commonwealth Games Federation is the organization behind the Commonwealth Games the first of which was held in 1930 and has been held every 4 years since then.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010 - QUEEN"S RELAY BATON HANDED OVER

2009-10-31T22:12:00.000+05:30

BATON HANDED OVER TO INDIAN PRESIDENT

Queen Elizabeth handed over the baton to the Indian President Ms Pratibha Patil. The baton as described earlier on the site is a highly advanced gadget in itself with sensors to track the runner's pulse and a leaf shaped message from the Queen made in 18-carat gold. The baton was finally passed on to the first sportsman Abhinav Bindra winner of an Olympic Gold Medal in the last Olympics for shooting. There were a total of 11 sportspersons who handled the baton including famous cricketer Kapil Dev. Mike Fennel the leader of the Commonwealth Games Federation, made a speech in which he indicated that it was time to look ahead and not to look back as preparations pick up momentum in order to finish on time by October 2010. India's Sports Minister claimed that all issues have been resolved and also met MIke Fennell with an assurance that India would host good games and that the entire country was behind the efforts.

After Suresh Kalmadi of the Indian Organising Committee called out for the sacking of the CGF CEO Mike Hooper, there now seems to be a status quo after Kalmadi met with Mike Fennell before the Queen's Baton Relay. Fennell had strongly supported Hooper and said nothing doing to any change in CEO for the CGF. Fennell had also urged for attention to be brought back to the issues facing the preparations for the Games

INDIA VS. AUSTRALIA ODI - AUSTRALIA FAVOURITES

2009-10-26T22:59:00.000+05:30

INDIA LOST ODI

India lost to the visiting team after Australia decided to bat first scoring 292 for 8 wickets. Ricky Ponting was the highets scorer with 74 runs with Paine making 50 runs. Sharma took 3 wickets after which India could make only 288 runs falling short of a victory by only 5 runs. This is the first of the seven one day international series to be played in various venues in India. At one point the Indian team was at 201 for 7 and the game looked overat which time Harbhajan Singh and Praveen Kumar brought India back into the fight and scored 84 runs in just 57 balls before Harbhajan gave in to Siddle.

Australia are favourites in the ODI series after their success in the Champions trophy. The odds for the Australians will be at 4/5 before the next match on Wed, October 28 for an Australian win.

Also read about the Queen's Baton Relay coming up soon, on this site.

QUEEN"S BATON RALLY ON OCT 29

2009-10-25T23:24:00.000+05:30

BATON RELAY SET TO BEGIN

The Queen's Baton Relay originates at the Buckingham Palace and carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, who is now Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The baton will be handed over to the first relay runner and the relay will culminate with the final relay runner handing over the baton to the Queen or a representative of the Queen at the venue of the Commonwealth Games with the Queen's message being read out. As reported in another article in this site, the relay was introduced in 1958 at the Cardiff Commonwealth Games and has been a regular feature since. The last Baton Relay travelled across 71 countries and was the longest until then clocking 180000 km at the time. Thde Baton itself had 71 lights signifying the 71 participating countries and had a video camera and a GPS tracker fixed to it. One could see the progress of the Baton with the transmitting signal of the GPS tracker on the Commonwealth Games website at the time.

The Commonwealth Games 2010 Queen's Baton rally will be formally launched for the XIX Commonwealth Games when the baton is handed over by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the Indian President Ms Pratibha Patil on October 29. The first relay runner will be Abhinav Bindra who is the Indian gold medal star of the Olympic Games and after which the baton will travel 190000 km in what will be the largest distance covered in the history of the Commonwealth Games ever. Other stars who will also be torchbearers will be Kapil Dev, former cricket captain of India, Vijender Singh the boxing star and Sania Mirza, the tennis ace.

As always, the Baton will carry the Queen's message which will be read out when the Baton is handed over from the last relay runner to the Queen's representative in New Delhi on October 3, 2010. The message is engraved into 18-carat gold leaf, in symbolic Indian design using laser technology. With the launch of the Baton relay will begin the final countdown to the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi.

CARDIFF FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2022?

2009-10-25T23:23:00.000+05:30

VENUE BID BY CARDIFF

The Welsh capital city of Cardiff has announced plans of bidding for hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2022. Support will be offered from nearby areas of Swanseaand Newport in south Wales. The 2018 Commonwealth games bidding is already being prepared for by Abuja in Nigeria, Gold Coast in Australia and Auckland in New Zealand. Birmingham, Leeds and Sheffield councils are also saying that they would like to host the 2022 games. Many in Britain feel that 2026 may be a more realistic year for bidding considering the fact that the Games have been awarded four times to Scotland and Wales once. At the forefront is Nigel Howells, city councillor for Cardiff who leads sports and leisure and who is confident of Cardiffs suitability for hosting the Games including funding needed for the same.

Wales had hosted the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in July 1958. 35 countries had participated by sending 1130 athletes and the high point of the Games was the Queen's baton relay introduced at the Cardiff Games which has been a regular feature ever since.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES BATON TO BE LAUNCHED ON OCT 29

2009-10-20T19:08:00.001+05:30

COMMONWEALTH BATON TO PASS THROUGH FROM ATTARI-WAGAH BORDER

Queen Elizabeth will launch the Commonwealth Games Baton at the Buckingham Palace in the presence of the Indian President Pratibha Patil on October 29. The first baton holder will be India's top sharpshooter Abhinav Bindra who won India's only gold medal in the last Olympics.

In what will be the longest baton relay for the Commonwealth Games, the baton will enter India on June 25 from India-Pakistan border at Attari. The baton will travel to various states in India and will finally arive at the venue on October 1 next year, after travelling 20,000 km in India and 170,000 before reaching India.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES SECURITY PLAN OCT 20

2009-10-20T17:20:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI SAFE - POLICE COMMISSIONER

The Police Commissioner of Delhi Y S Dadwal announced the security plan for the games including that of traffic movement from October 3 through to October 14. It entails the following:

1. Airforce choppers circling overhead above Stadia and Games village.

2. Sharpshooters with latest weapons lining the routes to be taken by players and all VIPs and the venues. The shooters will be placed at places of vantage like rooftops.

3. Access control through CPR cameras.

4. Non-clonable I-cards for all security personnnel.

5. Lanes for Commonwealth Games vehicles on major roads.

6. CCTVs will feed the central command centre set up for the Commonwealth Games at the Police HQ.

Security checks will be a 4-layered check in the areas in the vicinity of the venues. First level will be an outer zone restricted entry check at the parking areas. The second will be for valid ticket holders and authrized personnel . The third level will consist of futher checking and a check of barcoded tickets with photos. The last and final check will be at point which will be 30 metres form the venue where each person will be thoroughly checked with metal detectors and x-ray tools.

2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES - GLASGOW

2009-10-19T23:48:00.004+05:30

2014 COMMONWEALTH GAMES PREPARATIONS

The Commonwealth Games venue for 2014 had been awarded to Glasgow in Scotland by the Commonwealth Games Federation in November 2007. Glasgow won a close lead over Edinburgh which had also been considered for 2014 from Scotland. In the final race, Glasgow prevailed over Abuja in Nigeria and Halifax in Canada. Glasgow will be the XXth Commonwealth Games, to be held between 23rd July - 3rd August 2014.

Glasgow is known to be a friendly city in picturesque Scotland. It is the largest city in the region and River Clyde flows alongside the city. With less than 5 years to go for the Games, the Glasgow municipal council has pledged over a billion dollars for upgrading the city's infrastructure. Preparations are in full swing for preparing the venues for the sporting events, selection of 15000 volunteers and imparting training to them, and travel and accomodation arrangements of participants and visitors for the Games.

There are 17 sports that will be played in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The sports include athletics, boxing, aquatics, weightlifting, badminton, hockey, lawn bowls, rugby, squash, cycling, netball, wrestling, shooting, gymnastics, judo, table tennis and triathlon.

The Commonwealth Games of Glasgow will have a great spinoff for the people and economy of Glasgow. The Glasgow City Council has announced that there will be tremendous opportunities for the people and has promised an assured apprenticeship for all school-leaving students this year.

All efforts are being made in order to ensure that the Commonwealth Games 2014 to be held in Glasgow will be a memorable event for many years to follow. Particular care is being taken to ensure that the mistakes of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi are not repeated.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010 - PREPARATIONS STATUS IN OCT

2009-10-19T22:37:00.001+05:30

COMMONWEALTH GAMES FACTS

First a quick look at some of the stats:

COMMONWEALTH GAMES VILLAGE - ARTIST'S IMPRESSION

8000 athletes are participating

71 countries will send partcipants

19 venues - 13 sites are behind schedule

Operating budget - a whopping $335m(INR 16B)
23 committees have been set up

As you see above India is overtly behind schedule in preparation for the Games. There is no dearth of funds($335m) or of resources but there seems to be a lack of will and the ability to get things done. The culprits are supposed to be the bureaucrats handling the assignments in the different departments. It is said that there are 23 committees looking into various aspects but hardly do they meet to coordinate activities. The Organizing Committee leadership has accepted the fact that preparations are behind schedule and are trying their best to 'retrieve' the Games.

The Commonwealth Games of 2010 are the nineteenth in the series, to be held between October 3 - 14. The airport - Indira Gandhi International Airport is being modernized and a new terminal is being added which will have 130 counters to check-in, 30 bays for parking aircraft, 15 x-ray areas for screening purposes and several duty-free shops. The airport is connected to the city by a multi-lane highway and will be soon connected also with the Metro Rail network.

SITEMAP - COMMONWEALTH GAMES NEW DELHI 2010

2009-10-19T17:52:00.033+05:30