Boxing coach Obisia Nwankpa wants early preparations for Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010

National boxing coach Obisia Nwankpa has lamented the lack of serious preparations for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.

According to the former Commonwealth champion the boxers to represent the country at the event are worried that there are no competitions to enable them be in shape.

He said, ”It is sad that we are not preparing for the Commonwealth Games. In other countries, preparations are already in top gear and these are the people we will meet.

”For an event of such magnitude we should have started our preparations.

”There should have been competitions to select our boxers by now so that by next year we‘ll be talking about early camping. That‘s the only way we can be sure of medals,” he said.

The coach regretted that the national team could not impress at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and at the Amateur International Boxing Association Championship earlier this year, saying the preparations toward the events were terrible.

Obisia said, ”Toward the Olympics, we were camped in Benin just weeks before the games, and from there we moved to Beijing. The preparation was not good enough for us. It was difficult fighting boxers who had trained in three different countries, gaining experience and skills.”

Bolt keen to be in Delhi for the 2010 Games

Usain Bolt walked away with the Athlete of the Year award at the 2009 World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo last weekend and I am glad my colleague on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council and Jamaica Olympic Association secretary-general Neville McCook introduced me to the world sprint champion. I am happy to inform you that Bolt told me he is keen to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi next year.

Having also got International Athletic Foundation Honorary President Prince Albert II of Monaco and IAAF President Lamine Diack to agree to visit Delhi during the Commonwealth Games, I am now looking forward to a couple of days in London where I am meeting London 2012 Olympic Games Organising Committee Chairman Lord Sebastian Coe.

I will discuss the legacy that such events can leave and am hoping to get the BBC to come on board as a rights holding broadcaster.

It is an honour to be chosen by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to represent India at the Nov 28 sports breakfast hosted by the Commonwealth Games Federation and Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Mr. Patrick Manning for the Commonwealth Heads of Government at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) retreat venue in Trinidad.
It gives us an opportunity to impress upon the Heads of Governments the legacy benefits that the Commonwealth Games will leave as well as the rapid growth of host city in terms of infrastructure and development.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Commonwealth Games will leave an amazing legacy for Olympic sport in our nation, creating an unprecedented sports consciousness among the Indians.

As for Delhi, you are well aware of how Delhi Metro is changing travel patterns, how additional overbridges and new roads will make life a great deal smoother for the citizens.

The new terminal that is coming up at the Indira Gandhi International Airport will be world class and become one of the hubs that will promote tourism into India.

I am sure Delhi will enjoy the benefits of the Games even after the mega event in October 2010.

Meanwhile, I am delighted that the Queen's Baton Relay 2010 is moving with clockwork precision across Europe, visiting iconic sites and being carried by some outstanding athletes.

The baton's 3381-km journey so far has been amazing, visiting iconic sites and bridging communities across the Commonwealth.

Amidst all this excitement, I am pleased to inform you that we have not lost focus of the ensuing visit of the Co-ordination Commission (CoCom).

We are well on the way to ensuring that all 34 Functional Areas of the Organising Committee are up to the mark and in keeping with the Games Master Schedule.

My team — and we are adding more and more personnel, including those being deputed by Government and the armed forces on our request as well as international sportspersons — and I are working hard to reach the milestones that we have set for ourselves.

I am confident that we will organise the best ever Games.

Rs84 crore to be spent in Commonwealth Games opening, closing ceremonies

India will spend Rs84 crore in conducting the grand opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, sports ministry said today.

Replying to a question at the Lok Sabha, minister of state for sports, Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said the theme and concept of the opening ceremony has been finalised while the same process is on for the closing ceremony.

"Rs84 crore approximately has been earmarked for the two ceremonies in the budget of the Organising Committee CWG Delhi 2010," Patil told the Lok Sabha.

"The concept and theme for the opening ceremony has been finalised. The theme and concept for the closing ceremony is in an advanced stage of finalisation. The operational details are being developed by the Organising Committee," he added.

He said the programmes for these two ceremonies will be ready ahead of the timeframe set by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

"The CGF have advised that the programme for the opening and closing ceremonies needs to be finalised early. The programmes will be ready in time," Patil said.

The minister also informed the House that the government was also giving attention to the training of Indian athletes for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games next year.

"The government has undertaken a special drive for the preparation of athletes for the 2010 CWG and 2010 Asian Games. These efforts will be furthered suitably for training of sportspersons who qualify for London Olympics.

Assocham for tax holiday for five-star hotels

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has called for a five-year tax holiday for all hotels including five-star establishments, especially in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), in view of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

'The government has already accorded tax holiday for five years for two-, three- and four-star hotels and even convention centres with a seating capacity of not less than 3,000 in the NCR of Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad,' it said in a statement Wednesday.

This facility, according to Assocham, needed to be extended to all categories of hotels so that room capacity expansion takes place to accommodate tourists to India during the 2010 Delhi Games.

It said the infrastructure of the hospitality sector, especially in five-star hotel category in Delhi and NCR where majority of tourists are likely to stay during the event, was inadequate.

'Therefore, their capacities are required to be enhanced in which five-year tax holiday extension scheme would prove a great facilitator,' it said.

'The hotel industry is highly capital-intensive. A new five-star hotel needs investment ranging from Rs.300 crore to Rs.500 crore,' said Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat.

The chamber also reiterated its demand for infrastructure sector status for the hospitality industry to accelerate the pace of construction of more hotels across the country.