Sushil to lead India's charge at Commonwealth Wrestling

Beijing Games bronze medallist Sushil Kumar will lead India's charge at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship to be held in Jalandhar from Dec 17.

Ramesh Kumar, who won the bronze in the World Championship has opted out citing an injury problem.

The tournament, which was originally scheduled to take place in Delhi as a preparation for the Commonwealth Games, will see wrestlers from Australia, Iran, England, Bangladesh, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Nigeria and Pakistan taking part in the four-day event at the PAP Indoor Stadium.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) also said that an advance course for coaches in Free Style, Greco Roman Style and Female category will be organised at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Sonepat by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA).

The five-day crash course would be participated by more than 50 coaches from all over India.

Freestyle A: Anil Kumar (55 Kg), Rajneesh Kumar (60 Kg), Sushil Kumar (66 Kg), Narsingh Yadav (74 Kg), Anuj Kumar (84 Kg), Mausham Khatri (96 Kg), Joginder Kumar (120 Kg)

Freestyle Team B: Vinod Kumar (55 Kg), Rahul Mann (60 Kg), Amit Kumar Dhankar (66 Kg), Sumit (74 Kg), Ramvir (84Kg), Anil Mann (96Kg) and Rajeev Tomar (120 Kg)

Greco Roman Style Team A: Hari Krishan (55Kg), Ravinder Singh (60Kg), Gurbinder Singh (66Kg), Sanjay Singh (74Kg), Manoj Kumar (84Kg), Anil Kumar (96Kg), Dharmender Dalal (120 Kg)

Greco Roman Style Team B : Rajender Kumar (55 Kg), Anil (60Kg), Sunil Rana (66Kg), Rajbir Singh Chhikara (74Kg), Rajesh Kumar (84Kg), Ashok Kumar (96 Kg), Rishipal (120 Kg)

Female Team A: Nirmala Devi (48kg), Babita Kumari (51kg), Geeta (55kg), Alka Tomar (59kg), Navjot Kaur (63kg), Suman Kundu (67kg) and Anmol (72kg)

Female Team B: Neha Rathi (48kg), Rachna Shekhawat (51kg), Nirmal Devi (55kg), Rajani (59kg), Anita (63kg), Babita (67kg), Gursharnpreet Kaur (72kg)

Axed Goel lashes back: Games panel chief autocratic

A day after Commonwealth Games organising committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi announced committee member Vijay Goel’s expulsion for indiscipline, the BJP leader on Tuesday claimed he will meet the Prime Minister to request him to “discipline” the Games chief.

Former Union Sports Minister Goel said he will lead a delegation of Citizen’s Forum (formed by him recently to question the preparedness for the Commonwealth Games) to meet Manmohan Singh. “I will request the Prime Minister to demand a white paper on Games expenses and also ask him to discipline Kalmadi, not for my sake but for the Games. I have been asking the OC about the preparedness for the Games and why the cost has been escalating and was expelled as a result,” Goel said.

Goel, who called a press conference today, said that Kalmadi had an “autocratic and arrogant style of working” and one who could not take criticism in the right spirit.

“In the name of organising the Games, Kalmadi is engaging in corruption, there is no accountability as how the money is spent. The budget has quadrupled in the last few years and there is no transparency,” Goel said.

Giving statistics Goel said the Games budget had gone up from Rs 797 crore to Rs 1,620 crore as most projects were being completed at the last minute. “The Games were given to India on November 13, 2003 and in 2005 the OC was constituted but construction of stadiums was started in 2007-08. Most contractors are now asking exorbitant rates to complete the projects in haste.”

Asked if he would challenge his expulsion, Goel said, “My aim is not to fight with him. To be frank, I am not interested in getting into the issue of my expulsion and moreover the OC was registered as a society so there must be a set procedure.”

The BJP leader also said because of delay in developing the infrastructure, Indian athletes have lost their home advantage.

“Usually the host country gets the advantage of the home turf where the athletes can practise. But due to lack of preparation and incomplete stadiums, sportspersons have to practise at smaller stadiums and turfs which will not help them to compete at an international level.”

Commonwealth Games to generate big profits: Govt

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will generate Rs 1708 crore, which is Rs 88 crore more than the government has budgeted for the conduct of the multi-discipline event. Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that the government has enhanced the budget for the October 3-14 Games from Rs 767 crore to Rs 1620 crore.

“The Organising Committee has estimated that it would generate revenue of around Rs 1708 crore from international/domestic broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing, licensed merchandise, donations etc,” the Minister told in his reply to a written question.

Explaining the decision to raise the allocation, Patil said, the additional funds are likely to be spent by the Organising Committee on accreditation, city operations, sponsorships and TV rights, security, accommodation, catering, opening and closing ceremonies, protocol and Queens Baton Relay. In reply to another question, the Minister said out of Rs 1620 crore, the government has already released Rs 591.50 crore to the Organising Committee.

Integrated security at venues
An Integrated Security System (ISS) costing Rs 370 crore will be installed at all the competition and training venues of Commonwealth Games, it was announced on Tuesday. “The Government has approved the installation of an ISS for all the competition, training and non-competition venues for the Commonwealth Games next year,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullapally Ramachandran said.

The project will be executed through ECIL at a cost of Rs 370 crore which includes a provision of Rs 30 crore for “bandwidth”, he informed the Lok Sabha. An international security liason group has also been constituted by Home Ministry with representatives from various Central security agencies, Delhi Police, Defence Ministry and External Affairs Ministry.

Public money being looted in the name of Games

‘Tendering procedures have been bypassed and contracts are being given to favourite firms’

‘I have been expelled from the Organising Committee for raising issues of accountability’

Reacting strongly to his expulsion from the Commonwealth Games-2010 Organising Committee, former Union Minister of State for Sports Vijay Goel on Tuesday charged that there was “widespread corruption going on in the name of the Commonwealth Games-2010 both at the level of the Organising Committee as well as the Delhi Government”.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Goel, who was the Sports Minister at the Centre in late 2003 when Delhi won the bid for hosting the Games in 2010, said the Organising Committee headed by Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi and the Delhi Government both had delayed the preparations for the Games leading to a huge escalation in costs.
Sub-tendering

The BJP national general secretary, who claimed that he had been expelled from the Organising Committee at its annual general meeting on Monday for raising issues of accountability, said that in the name of the Games the normal tendering procedures of the Government had been bypassed and contracts were being given to favourite companies. Mr. Goel said there were also reports of sub-tendering of work orders. Besides, he said, when a big contractor left the project, the same work was got done through another at a much higher cost.
‘Poor quality’ buses

The Delhi Government too, he charged, had been using the Games as a front to purchase “poor quality” low-floor buses and had been sugar-coating all its infrastructure projects like flyovers, hospitals, hotels or works like street-lighting or beautification of roads by affixing the name of the Commonwealth Games to them to avoid questioning on quality or costing.
Lingering projects

“What is even more shocking,” he said, “is that many of the projects are still lingering in the initial stages and soon we may find more costs being added to them….Every other day we see Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit asking and getting special funds from the Central Government in the name of Commonwealth Games-2010. And while Government funds are flowing on one side, on the other higher taxes, tariffs and fares are being charged from the people in the name of cost of development.”

Delhi govt not to permit pvt buses on routes linking Noida

The Delhi Government has decided not to allow the private bus fleet to ply on the routes linking Noida.

Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely on Tuesday said low floor DTC buses will be deployed on the Noida routes to replace the Blueline buses.

A Transport department official said the process of issuing notices to Blueline buses plying on the Noida routes will be started from December 10.

"The phase out process of 250 Blueline buses from the Noida routes will begin on December 10," he said adding initially some of the bus operators will be told to shift to low intensity routes.

The official said if the operators will not change the routes, then their permits will be cancelled.

Lovely said the government is determined to put in place a modern bus fleet ahead of next year's Commonwealth Games in the city.

At present, nearly 2,600 Blueline buses are plying on the city's roads. Apart from the existing low floor buses, the city will get another lot of 2,500 vehicles in next couple of months.

Lovely said the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will have a fleet of around 5,000 modern buses during the prestigious Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth Games stadiums 'will be ready', says India sports minister

India's sports minister MS Gill has insisted Delhi's key stadiums will be ready for next year's Commonwealth Games and there will be no compromise on their "quality and safety" despite worrying delays in construction.

On an inspection to the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium, Gill said that the Delhi venue, once completed, would be on a par with the stadiums seen during the Beijing Olympics last summer.

The venue will host gymnastics, wrestling and cycling events and Gill's visit came on the back of a stinging attack in parliament last week over construction delays.

Gill said: "The stadium is a mighty complex and a technological marvel.

"Most of the work will be finished by December and the rest will be done by January or February. The Games are in October, so we still have a lot of time.

"I know we were behind schedule but we need to make sure that we do not compromise on quality and safety.

The work at the velodrome began late and raised speculation over whether the venue would be ready on time.

However, Gill said: "There was a debate over the cycling velodrome but we started it only in January 2009 as there were some issues to be sorted out. I think the Sports Authority of India and all the engineers are doing a fine job."

Last month Commonwealth Games officials admitted that two venues were behind schedule and changed their deadline by three months.

The Siri Fort Complex will host badminton and squash, while the Yamuna Sports Complex, which will stage archery and table tennis, and the The Delhi Development Authority has now rescheduled its finish date from December until next March.

Integrated security system to cover 2010 Commonwealth Games: Govt.

The Government on Tuesday said that it has an action plan to set up an integrated security system (ISS) to cover all the venues and provide foolproof security for the Commonwealth Games to be held in the national capital in October 2010.

In written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home M. Ramachandran, said that the Home Ministry has approved the installation of an integrated security system for all the competition, training and non-competition venues for the Commonwealth Games to be executed through an expenditure of Rs. 370 crore.

He also said an international security liaison group has been constituted by the ministry with representatives from various Central security agencies, Delhi Police, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs in liaison with the security administrators of all the participating countries in the Games.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be India's first major international sports event after the 1982 Asian Games.

The Games are scheduled to be staged in India for the first time and in Asia for the second time.

Commonwealth Games 2010 Volunteer Registration Starts

Work As a Volunteer in 2010 Commonwealth Games Apply online at http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/delhiunited