Commonwealth Games Scotland warns SRU that rugby sevens team may be left out of Delhi campaign

After being snubbed as potential tourists by New Zealand and South Africa earlier in the week, Scottish rugby suffered another serious blow yesterday when the nation’s Commonwealth Games authorities made it clear there will be no Scottish presence in the sevens competition in Delhi later this year without a significant improvement in performance and firm guarantees over the calibre of players who will be available.

Michael Cavanagh, chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, issued that warning ahead of the weekend’s Emirates Airlines Edinburgh Sevens at Murrayfield, the final round of an IRB Sevens World Series in which Scotland have performed abjectly, failing to reach the quarter-finals of any of the seven tournaments held so far.

Scotland’s globetrotting sevens team have won just a handful of ties over the past six months, accumulating precisely zero ranking points in the process. That has alarmed Games officials, whose rule-of-thumb is that teams and individuals will only be put forward if they have a realistic chance of a top-eight finish in their respective disciplines.

“In order to have their selection confirmed, and in line with all of the other 16 sports, Scotland Rugby Sevens need to demonstrate the potential to finish in the top eight at the Games and confirm the availability of the strongest possible combination of players,” said Cavanagh. “We have been in ongoing discussions with the SRU and will review the situation with them following this weekend’s final leg of the IRB Sevens.”

While Scotland might be able to pull off some decent results at Murrayfield this week, bolstered as they have been by players like Ben Cairns, Ally Hogg and Greig Laidlaw, it is far from certain that the SRU could commit to releasing players of that quality for the Delhi games in October, when Glasgow and Edinburgh will also be competing in the early rounds of the Heineken Cup.

“We’ve always been clear about the criteria for taking part in the Games and we’re comfortable with that situation,” said SRU communications director Dominic McKay. “We’ll make sure we have the strongest possible squad to compete at the Games.”

The embarrassment is all the greater as seven-a-side rugby was invented in Scotland, the idea of a butcher, Ned Haig, who dreamt up the format as a money-making idea for Melrose. That heritage is recognised at the Rugby World Cup Sevens, held every four years, where the winners are presented with the Melrose Cup.

“The players are well aware of the situation,” said Scotland sevens coach Stephen Gemmell. “There is no secret there. If we are going to go to the Commonwealth Games then we have to show that we can be competitive, both in terms of what we do on the pitch and the squad we get together.”

As in so many other areas of the game, Scotland’s problem is primarily one of scarce resources. If Heineken Cup demands rule out around 50 home-based players, it is hard to see where a competitive Scottish sevens side will be found. Already, there are strong indications that the elite rugby review being conducted by the SRU could result in international sevens being ditched in favour of concentrating efforts elsewhere.

However, given Scotland’s unique heritage in the sport, it also seems probable that less stringent performance criteria will be applied in order that there can be a Scottish sevens presence when the Games are held in Glasgow in 2014.

MCD may fail to install lights in time

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) might not be able to complete the last phase of installing streetlights in the city before Commonwealth Games 2010. According to the MCD, they haven’t yet received funds from the Delhi government to buy streetlights for the last phase.

“In the last phase, we were supposed to install streetlights along 704 km of road which includes colony areas. But we have not received Rs 200 crore for the project from Delhi government till date,” said Subhash Arya, leader of the MCD House.

Currently, the MCD is installing streetlights along 50 major roads under phase-II, which will automatically switch on when the sun sets and switch-off when the sun rises. Besides this, Arya said, some work in Karol Bagh is falling behind schedule.

“I visited Karol Bagh recently and found that the footpath work was left midway at some points. I have now directed officials to complete all work taken on by them,” added Arya.

Meanwhile, Delhi urban development minister Dr A.K. Walia, along with New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) chairperson Parimal Rai, inspected on Tuesday various ongoing Games-related projects in the NDMC area.

Walia directed the NDMC to complete all civil work before the onset of monsoon and concentrate on horticulture work thereafter.

CGF losing sleep over incomplete venues

Commonwealth Games Federation’s chief executive officer Mike Hooper has expressed his concern over the unfinished venues and slow pace of work. In all, 10,000 athletes will participate in the October 3-14 Games.

However, with 132 days to go, the main stadium is months overdue and completion of the swimming pool and other venues has been delayed, highlighting the slow pace of India’s infrastructure development.

“I am not wanting to sound alarmist, but the reality is there is a lot more to be done, a lot of finishing work to be done,” Hooper said. Other officials from the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Indian Olympic Association voiced similar concerns.

The completed venues were initially promised to be handed over to Games organisers by December 31, 2009.

Targets have been consistently missed for building roads, ports and power plants. The capital is also repairing old colonial buildings and completing new roads and rail links to give the city a makeover to try to ensure a successful event.

But the signs have not been encouraging. “The construction agencies have promised that they will meet deadlines but, unfortunately, we have had times when many promises were made and then we find one reason or another that delivery hasn’t been there,” Hooper said.

Authorities now fear the schedule will become so tight they will have insufficient time to check venues for glitches before the Games open.

Heightening those fears, the lights went out at a stadium on the first day of an Asian junior tennis tournament on Monday, forcing officials to abandon eight matches.

“The Games will happen, swimming will happen, athletics will happen,” Hooper said. “But it comes down to the level and standards of completion, I suppose.”

Hooper said he was wary of threats by mostly Pakistan-based militant groups but said security drills had been satisfactory so far. “Everybody is concerned about the security environment... but no team has said we are not coming to the Games,” Hooper said.

Govt-Fortis deal on ambulances dead

After a month-long effort to salvage the joint venture between the Delhi government and Fortis Hospitals to launch additional ambulances before the Commonwealth Games, the mediation has been called off.

Former chief secretary Narain Swami, however, is yet to submit a report to the government detailing causes that led to “irreconcilable differences” between the parties.

The deal was called off last Friday and the two parties will now approach an arbitrator for financial closure.

The state Health department is, meanwhile, looking at hiring vehicles from ambulance operators during the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to begin from October 3.

“We will be purchasing 30 ambulances and the rest will be hired from private operators. After the Games, we will augment out fleet gradually,” Special Secretary Diwan Chand said.

The Health department had partnered with the Fortis group of hospitals to roll out 150 fully equipped ambulances in time for the Commonwealth Games. The deal had cost the government Rs 25 crore and the first batch of ambulances was supposed to be delivered in January this year.

The partnership fell apart after the Delhi Health minister inspected and rejected the fleet that was ready to be delivered.

According to the pact, other than the 150 ambulances, there would have been 20 ‘first-responder’ (two-wheeler) vehicles, which would reach a victim within 15 to 20 minutes of receiving a call for help.

Of the 150 ambulances, 141 would have been basic life support ambulances and nine would be advanced life support.

Since 1991, pre-hospital medical emergency transportation and ambulance services have been provided through CATS.

Focus on Connaught Place re-development ahead of CWG

With thousands of foreign visitors likely to throng Connaught Place during the upcoming Commonwealth Games, Delhi Urban Development Minister A.K. Walia Tuesday asked civic officials to focus on the area’s re-development and complete the event-related works by June.

During an inspection to check the ongoing CWG project at Connaught Place, Walia said development of the area was on at 11 blocks and 75-81 percent of the work has been completed.

He said the re-development of Connaught Place was important as a number of tourists, players and officials of sports organisations from several countries will visit the place in October.

The minister, along with New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) chairman Parimal Rai, also inspected other ongoing Games-related project sites under the civic agency.

He directed the NDMC to complete all civic works before the onset of monsoon and concentrate on horticulture work thereafter.

An NDMC official said that keeping in view the requirement of parking for vehicles during the Games, the civic agency has chalked out a plan to make available ‘Park and Ride’ service at the Safdarjung Airport.

With a total area of 170,000 square metre, there will be a parking space for 3,000 cars, 6,000 two-wheelers and 450 buses, he added.

“This move will help in decongesting main entry and exit roads leading to the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the main site for the Commonwealth Games,” the official said.

Walia also visited the renovated Talkatora Stadium, where boxing tournament will take place during the Games, besides Shivaji Stadium which will be used as training venue for hockey.

India fear Commonwealth Games venues will not be ready

Construction delays have raised fears that Commonwealth Games venues may not be fully ready in time providing a potential embarrassment for India which hopes the Games will showcase its rising economic power.

The country is expecting two million tourists in New Delhi, as well as athletes from 71 teams from the 54 Commonwealth member states for the October 3-14 Games. About 10,000 athletes and officials are due to take part.

However, with 132 days to go, the main stadium is months overdue and completion of the swimming pool and other venues has been delayed, highlighting the slow pace of India's infrastructure development.

"I am not wanting to sound alarmist, but the reality is there is a lot more to be done, a lot of finishing work to be done," Mike Hooper, chief executive officer of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said in an interview.

Other officials from the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Indian Olympic Association voiced similar concerns.

India had initially promised to hand over the venues to Games organisers by December 31, 2009.

Targets have been consistently missed for building roads, ports and power plants. Bureaucracy and red tape and difficulties in acquiring land have delayed plans to overhaul infrastructure to sustain 8-9 percent economic growth by 2012.

Experts say poor infrastructure shaves an estimated 1 or 2 percentage points off India's annual economic growth.

The capital is also repairing old colonial buildings and completing new roads and rail links to give the city a makeover to try to ensure a successful event.

DEADLINES MISSED

But the signs have not been encouraging. "The construction agencies have promised that they will meet deadlines but, unfortunately, we have had times when many promises were made and then we find one reason or another that delivery hasn't been there," Hooper said.

Authorities now fear the schedule will become so tight they will have insufficient time to check venues for glitches before the Games open.

Heightening those fears, the lights went out at a stadium on the first day of an Asian junior tennis tournament on Monday, forcing officials to abandon eight matches.

"The Games will happen, swimming will happen, athletics will happen," Hooper said. "But it comes down to the level and standards of completion, I suppose."

India is also endeavouring to reassure foreign participants that it will provide foolproof security for the Commonwealth Games.

Threats to sporting events were underscored in April when bombs went off outside a packed cricket stadium in south India. That stirred concerns India might not be able to secure events involving large numbers of athletes and spectators at a variety of venues.

A comprehensive setup to provide security, including high-tech scanners and X-ray equipment, has yet to be purchased by authorities, let alone installed at venues, officials say. Thousands of security staff will oversee the venues.

Hooper said he was wary of threats by mostly Pakistan-based militant groups but said security drills had been satisfactory so far.

"Everybody is concerned about the security environment... but no team has said we are not coming to the Games," Hooper said.