Graffiti against CW Games

With slogans like ‘Pro-rich, anti-poor — Commonwealth Games suck’ and ‘Rugby nahi roti’ (Food, not rugby), the Capital seems to have found a new way to oppose the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

For more than three weeks now, bus stops and barricades near Siri Fort Sports Complex bear anti-Commonwealth Games slogans and no one knows who did it.

Badminton and squash tournaments will be held in the Siri Fort Sports Complex during the Games, which is one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

“Two weeks back we came and saw 'Band karo ye khel' (stop the games) written with red paint at a bus stop here,” said K. Mani (49), a driver who parks his car in Anand Lok every day.

“It happened during the night. No one has any idea who is behind it.”

The residents of the area are also unhappy with the graffiti.

“Whoever has done this does not understand that the Games are a boon. They will help upgrade the infrastructure in the city,” said Neelima Sharma (37), a resident of Anand Lok.

“We were also against certain policies of the government regarding the Games but defacing public property is not the proper way to protest. The graffiti is in bad taste,” said Krishan Sharma, secretary of the Asiad Village Residents Welfare Association.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi spokesman Deep Mathur said, “Orders to remove the graffiti have been issued by the Deputy Commissioner (South Zone) and action will be taken within two to three days.”

Graffiti has been gaining popularity in Delhi for some years now and it is not for the first time that this form has been seen in the city.

“Graffiti is common here. It was previously seen in areas such as Ansal Plaza , Hauz Khas and Asiad Village. We caught a group of youngsters writing on the walls a couple of years back as well,” said Sharma.

But this is for the first time that graffiti has been used as a form of protest.

“I think it is a good way to get people to think. Every time I cross this area I feel whoever has written the slogans is right. They are 'anti progress', as one graffiti says,” said Karan Dogra, 22, a student.

“The government wants to remove the poor from the footpaths in the name of Games,” said Umesh Babu (14), who sells window blinds on the footpath.

Advertisers not yet ready to play CWG

Advertisers are not yet ready to come out and play in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010, which is less than six months away.

Maruti Suzuki, Adidas, Volkswagen, Reebok, Sahara India and LG are some of the companies still evaluating the prospects of jumping on CWG bandwagon. “We are figuring out the benefits in the form of eyeballs, top-of-mind recall of brands by the consumers,” said Shashank Srivastav, commercial business head, Maruti Suzuki.

Till now, the Organising Committee of CWG has had success only in roping in Coca-Cola India as the official beverage partner for the Games. The committee has also tied up with public sector units such as National Thermal Power Corporation, Air India, Indian Railways and Central Bank of India for sponsorship.

Electronics major such as LG, Videocon and Samsung, which are prominent sponsors in major sporting events like IPL-3, T20 World Cup and the FIFA World Cup in June this year, are also cold to the idea of associating with the Games. “We don’t see the games as a saleable property for us. So, there will be no major launches during the Commonwealth Games,” said a Samsung Electronics official.

German sports apparel maker Adidas is firmly focused on FIFA World Cup, and CWG doesn’t figure prominently on its radar. “There are many different ways to be associated with the Commonwealth game, if not directly as a sponsor,” said Andreas Gellner, MD, Adidas India.

Media planners say that the Commonwealth property might fall flat as their clients have not yet slotted the Game as part of their plan. “Last October, we closed all our IPL deals for the clients. For Commonwealth Games, our clients are not too keen to invest as they do not see it as a viable property,” said media planner Mona Jain, COO, Vivaki Exchange.

India ready to rub shoulders with lawn bowl powerhouses

When the eight-nation lawn bowls tournament gets underway from Tuesday — the venue at the Nehru Stadium complex was inaugurated on Monday evening — it will not only bring one of the oldest sports to the country but also attempt to raise awareness about a game played by over 50 countries across the world.

The five-day competition is a test event for the big occasion — the Commonwealth Games in October — and the Indian team is quietly confident of springing a surprise or two against some of the top teams in the world. “It may be unknown to people here but did you know that the second oldest bowling green outside England is in India (Kolkata, 1830),” says coach Richard Gale, an Australian who has been with the Indian team since December 2008.

“Besides India, the other teams in the fray are Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Malaysia. While Malaysia are the current Asian champions, New Zealand are the world champions. So it will be a tough task for the Indians,” admits Gale, who has been coaching the Indian team since December 2008.
India have two teams of six members each in men and women who will be playing the singles, doubles, triples and fours. The tournament will be played on a league basis with the top two playing the finals.

In fact, this will be the first time India will be participating in the event at the Commonwealth Games. “It was only after the 2006 Melbourne Games that India seriously decided to build a team for the event, since it is one of the mandatory sports. But now, in the past one and a half years, we have made good progress,” said Pinky Kaushik, one of the Indian team members.

Gale is impressed with the Indian team. “We won India’s first ever medals in the sport at the 2009 Asia-Pacific championships in Kuala Lumpur (two bronze) and our first-ever gold at the 2009 Asian championships in Shenzen (1 gold and 6 bronze). “We have been preparing for the past 12 months non stop, including a month long camp in Australia last month. This team is hardworking and I hope to see them at least make the top four here,” Gale said.

The 12-member Indian team — six men and six women — was shortlisted from among the 30 probables selected during the CWG trials in Ranchi in February 2009. India will be playing in singles, pairs, triples and fours in the event on a round-robin format, with the two top teams qualifying for the semis. Teams ranked 3-6 will play each other in a knockout round to decide the other two semi-finalists.

“Immediately after this, a four-member team will be going for the World Cup in Australia (April 22-29). We are making sure that, while the rest of the teams may be far ahead on experience, the Indian team will get the best possible exposure ahead of the CWG,” said Sunaina Kumari, president of the Bowling Federation of India.

Lawn bowls, explained
Lawn bowls is played on a large, rectangular grass or synthetic surface known as a bowling green, divided into parallel playing strips called rinks. Two teams of one, two, three or four teams play each other. A small round ball called the jack is rolled with a toss deciding which team gets to roll the jack. Both team then take turns rolling round, uneven balls with the objective of the game being to play the ball closest to the jack.

Every ball rolled by a player closer to the jack more than his opponent earns one point; the more balls a player has closer to the jack than his opponent, the more points he gets. In singles, the player first to 21 points is the winner.

A game generally lasts around 2 hours, spread across three sets of nine ‘ends’ or rounds each. In teams event, every player gets to play four balls each (in singles and pairs, three each in triples and two each in fours) in every ‘end’ and the one who wins two sets is the winner.

Asian junior tennis to be test event for CWG

The Asian junior championship, to be staged at the DLTA Complex here from May 24, is scheduled to be the test event for tennis for the Commonwealth Games.

Interestingly, the tournament will be preceded by two more international tennis events at the same venue, in the fortnight before the Asian junior championship.

The venue, with a refurbished centre court, and a brand new show court No.1, is expected to be complete with new synthetic courts by the end of this month.

The $15,000 ITF men's Futures tennis tournament to be held from May 10, will be the first tournament in the new complex, though it may not be termed the test event. That will be followed by the ITF junior Grade 'II' tournament the following week, starting on May 17. Thus, the venue will be full ready when the ‘test' event is played from May 24. — Special Correspondent

Tourism packages sought for C'wealth games

Commonwealth Games 2010 Organising Committee Special Director General Jiji Thomas today demanded that the Kerala Government should prepare special tourism packages to attract tourists who visit the state for the Games.

He told reporters here that more than one lakh foreign tourists were expected to reach the country during the Games.

States like Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh
had already prepared "special tourism packages" in connection with the Games, he said.

He had spoken to Kerala sports minister M Vijayakumar in this connection and was expecting a favourable reply from the government.

As Indian Railways are among the sponsors for the Games, a special train will be run for publicisng the Games. It will run between New Delhi and Kerala. He said infrastructure development for the Games was going on at full swing. More than 1200 employees were working at the organising head quarters, round the clock. As the Games date nears, their number will be increased to 2000, he added.

Kerala responds well to Commonwealth Games roadshow

The first in the series of nationwide Commonwealth Games road shows concluded here Monday.

Jiji Thomson, special director general, 2010 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Delhi, said the response to the first road show has been excellent.

"It is the biggest sporting extravaganza for India and is being held nearly three decades after the Asian Games. It is important to sensitise the youth of the nation towards sports," said Thomson.

The road show was kicked off with a painting competition, which saw participation from children of various age group.

Paintings depicting Shera, the Games' mascot, sports and harmony were on display. State Sports Minister M. Vijayakumar also gave awards to children for their efforts.

Infrastructure arrangements for Commonwealth to be ready by Sept

All infrastructure arrangements for the conduct of the Commonwealth Games (CWG), to be held at Delhi from October 3-14, will be ready by the middle of September 2010 with tight security cover provided for the event, a top official of the CWG organising committe said here today.

Several steps, including use of state-of-the-art technology, have been taken to tighten security. "There will be tight security cover at all venues as was seen in the recent world cup hockey and in ongoing Indian Premier League, Twenty20 cricket," Jiji Thomson, special director-general, organising committee Commonweath Games 2010, told reporters.

Safety of athletes, official and visitors during the games is the top most priority of the organising committee, he said, adding initially some countries expressed concern,but now everyone is fully satisfied with security arrangements.

All infrastructure arrangements will be ready by the middle of September, Thomson said.

Thomson said that 71 Commonwealth associations from 53 countries will vie for the honours in this mega event.

There will be 17 sporting events including Rugby and Netball introduced for the first time in the CWG, he said, adding about 8,000 athletes are expected to participate.

"Spirits and energy levels are high and all efforts are being made to ensure that India is among the top two nations in the medals tally at Delhi 2010," he said.

The expense for the development of infrastructure without including airport and metro modernisation, was estimated at
USD two billion, he said. The Green Games initiatives are being implemented at all competition and non-competition venues, Thomson said.

"The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and it will be a never seen before
experience. Not only will the games leave behind improved infrastructure and facilities for the citizens of Delhi, but will also promote investment in the city," he said.

Hosting a sporting event of the magnitude of the CWG, after the Asian Games about three decades ago, is a matter of international prestige and pride for the country. "The legacy of the 19th CWG will be to make the sports culture a part of the daily life of every Indian, particularly the youth."

Another sector that would see substantial improvements will be transportation with flyovers, broader roads, a larger metro system, and an integrated rail bus transport system, he said.

The modernisation of the Indira Gandhi International Airport would go a long way towards improving India's links with the rest of the world, he added.

Commonwealth Games: Private detectives volunteer for intelligence gathering

Over 25,000 private detectives across the country will offer their services to Delhi police in gathering intelligence to prevent any untoward incident during the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

The Association of Private Detectives and Investigators (APDI), an umbrella body of 3,000 private detective agencies, will soon submit its proposal to Delhi Police chief Y S Dadwal in this regard.

"We have a strong force of 25,000 detectives across the country. They are experienced and have solved many tough cases. The association has felt that its agents can help in gathering intelligence and keeping untoward incidents at bay especially during the Games, " APDI chairman Kunwar Vikram Singh said.

He said the agents can easily mingle with common people without inviting any suspicion from criminals.

Commonwealth Games, one of the biggest sporting events hosted by India, are scheduled here between October 3-14 this
year.

Government has made it clear that adequate security arrangements will be made at all the Games venues and sites.

India’s target will be to rise in medal’s tally: Randhir Singh

Indian Olympic Association Secretary-General Mr. Randhir Singh says India’s target in the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi will be to improve its position in the medals tally from fourth last time.

“Our teams are preparing in right earnest. We hope to win medals in all disciplines,” he told rediff.com in an interview. “We cannot catch up with the Australians as they have become a super power in sport but we have the skill to beat both Canada and England behind whom we had finished fourth the last time in Melbourne.”

Mr Randhir Singh, who took part in six Olympic Games shooting competitions said India has some exciting shooters who have excelled in the World Cup, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games. “We have Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, who is competent to take on the best in the world.

“We have world-beaters in double trap, in Rajan Sodhi and Rajyavardhan Rathore. Then we have Manavjit Singh in trap, Gagan Narang in 10m and 50m. These are world-class shooters and can win medals at any time. We have others who are also coming up nicely. It is difficult to say who will win medals,” he said.

Mr. Randhir Singh said the Indian hockey team’s goal is to win a medal in hockey at the Games. “The FIH World Cup was a dress rehearsal for the Commonwealth Games. Surely it went off well and the world appears impressed,” he said, indicating that preparations and arrangements for the Commonwealth Games are on track.

“Our Games Village is going to be one of the best in the world. The stadia will be ready in time to stage the biggest sporting event India has ever held,” said Mr. Randhir Singh, who is Vice-Chairman of the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi.

“There are no misgivings in the matter of security. We will have the best security in place well before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games. Those dealing with this are confident that the Games will begin and end peacefully. The security experts are happy too. They now complain sometimes that there is too much security. But they also feel that it is for their good.”