It Will Be Hard for Us at 2010 Commonwealth Games - Nesieama

Athletics Federation of Nigeria member, Omatseye Nesieama declared that Nigeria has an uphill task at the 2010 Commonwealth Games billed for August in New Delhi, India.

Nesieama, a Navy captain, was speaking against the background of poor funding of the sport and the dearth of athletics talent that has hit Nigerian track and field in recent times.

"There is little we can do now for the Games. The time is too short to start conditioning athletics that can give us good results. And coupled with the problem that we are facing with funding, there is no way we can get our athletes in top condition to do well at the Games," said Nesieama.He submitted that the board of the AFN was now looking ahead to the 2012 Olympics in London.

According to him, the federation will embark on a grassroots development programme, which will throw up trainable talents that can be groomed in a space of two years. "We realise that most of our athletes have come of age and we need to replace them. This is why the board of the AFN is paying much attention to grassroots development programme with a view to selecting athletes we can train towards the Olympics."

He added that the AFN is aggressively looking for private funds to ensure that these programmes are run.

Since the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games when Nigeria won gold, two silver and two bronze medals, track and field has steadily declined as the athletes who made the country proud at the Atlanta Games retired with the sport.

CP circle? No, this is the redone Yusuf Zai Market

Built in 1947 as a rehabilitation market, the Yusuf Zai market in the Outer Circle of Connaught Place has undergone a major makeover, courtesy the Commonwealth Games.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has made a new facade for the entire market. The 63-year-old market was in a dire need of repair with crumbling infrastructure.

“Jaalis have been added on the rooftops with glass show-windows on the first floor of each shop. Also, two pillars have been constructed in front of each shop to match with the unique character and architecture of Connaught Place,” said a senior NDMC official.

Presently, facade restoration work is going on in the entire CP area. The NDMC hopes to give the area a unique and new look before the Games.

Known for its crowded food joints, the market consists of 106 shops and houses several utility shops among others.

The entire cost of the project was Rs 2.5 crore.

“We wanted to redevelop the place like the Tibetan and Janpath markets with standardised sign boards and uniform look. But we faced a lot of problem in this as many shopkeepers had done

additional constructions,” added the official.

The project started one-and-a-half-years back and the cleaning process is on. NDMC will re-lay the pavement outside the market later. The market will be inaugurated on March 8.

The mammoth Rs 700-crore Connaught Place renovation and redevelopment project also includes Gole Market, Shankar Market, and Palika Bazar.

CWG’10 archery range inaugurated

Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy today inaugurated the archery venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games at the Yamuna Sports Complex here.

The 3,500-seater state-of-the-art stadium, which will host the preliminary rounds of the archery events during the October 3-14 Games, has been constructed over an area of 4.8 hectors at an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore.

“I am happy to inaugurate this beautiful stadium, which is equipped with all kinds of international level facilities,” Reddy said after inaugurating the venue.

The curvilinear form of the aesthetically designed building will ensure an unhindered view of the proceedings at the middle from all the sides of the gallery, which also give easy accessibility to the differently-abled spectators.

“It looks good and nice and I hope all the players will enjoy their events in the venue during the prestigious Games,” Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna said after taking a round of the stadium.

“I am also sure that all the venues will be ready well in advance for the mega-event, which will be a big occasion for our country,” he added.

YSC will host the preliminary rounds of archery events from October 4-6, while the final competitions will be held at the India Gate from October 7-10.

Security is fantastic: Commonwealth Games chief

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) chief executive Mike Hooper Friday said the successful staging of the Commonwealth Shooting Championships and the ongoing Hockey World Cup will help reduce security fears among some of the participating nations for the October 3-14 Games.

"The chef-de-missions of all the 71 nations are arriving here next week and there will be presentations by the Delhi government, the Delhi Police about the security and other aspects," Hooper told reporters on the sidelines of the Hockey World Cup here at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium while cheering for his national team - New Zealand.

"I think the security has been fantastic. It's almost impossible to breach this kind of security ring.

"We have had a successful Commonwealth Shooting Championships which went off without any untoward accident. I think all reservations about the security will be put to rest once the delegates come over to Delhi and have a look at the progress themselves," Hooper added.

The New Zealander said the participating teams had reservations before coming for the World Cup, but after arriving here all their doubts have been dispelled.

"Yes, there were players and teams which had a few reservations about the security here. But ever since the teams have arrived here, I am sure no one has had any problem with the security,'' he said.

Around a lakh tourists expected to visit Delhi during games

Government on Friday said it was expecting around one lakh tourists during Commonwealth Games to be held here in October this year.

“2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne had attracted 90,000 visitors and it is expected that around one lakh visitors would come to Delhi for the games this year,” Minister of State for Tourism Sultan Ahmed said in a written reply to Lok Sabha query.

He added that through the Ministry’s overseas offices, promotional campaigns were undertaken for promoting Queen’s Baton Relay and the Commonwealth Games-2010 in Commonwealth countries.

“These activities include advertising, participation in travel fairs, exhibitions, road shows etc. So far, the campaign has been undertaken in the UK and South Africa along with incredible India campaigns,” Ahmed said.

He said the government has recently introduced visa on arrival for five countries, including two Commonwealth countries - Singapore and New Zealand.

Ahmed added that there was no proposal to grant concession in visa fees for the games. The Games will be held from October 3 to 14.

Commonwealth Games will be the best: Kalmadi

The Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games, Suresh Kalmadi, has asserted it will be the best ever sporting event.

Addressing media persons here on Thursday, Kalmadi said: "It will be the best Commonwealth Games ever. There is no doubt about it. Now, all the people, even our biggest critic, the Australian Foreign Minister, has gone back and said that it has got a potential better than Melbourne. So the people who are concerned are very satisfied. But we still have to improve."

He also announced the collaboration between Commonwealth Games-2010 and Spic Macay, a non-governmental organisation for to reaching out to Indian youth to be a part of the mega event.

Welcoming the helping hand extended by Spic Macay, Kalmadi mentioned that even staunch critics of the preparations for the games have changed their views and appreciated the organisers efforts.

Kalmadi further noted that a series of test events are being conducted, and any flaws, if at all would be rectified.

"We are having test events and that is mostly, at the moment, about the field of play. So we are satisfied with what we are seeing, but we are learning a lot from these test events because when the Commonwealth Games come, it will be perfect. So, we have learnt a lot and we are drawing a lot of lessons from these test events as it should be and implement in the Commonwealth Games," added Kalmadi.

He also claimed that the Commonwealth Games-2010 would leave behind world-class sporting infrastructure in the country.