Archers beware, say no to your poison or face the music

If you thought breath analysers were only meant for catching drunk drivers, think again. And if you thought alcohol could never be a performance-enhancer for sportspersons, you are horribly wrong! For the first time during the Delhi Commonwealth Games, besides inebriated motorists, archers will be
tested for alcohol through a breath analyser.

According to World Anti-Doping Agency, archers are a select few who are banned from drinking because alcohol is considered a performance-enhancer in their sport. The permissible limit for archers is 0.10gm per litre compared to .35g per litre for motorists.

"We have acquired breath analysers and will use them to detect offenders in archery," explained Munish Chander, deputy director general, doping control with the CWG Organising Committee. "Alcohol in desired quantities helps archers to steady nerves and improve levels of concentration. It is banned internationally."

Cjander adds, "This is for the first time that archers will go through such a test on Indian soil," said Chander.

Indian archers, however, said they never had to depend on alcohol to steady their hands. According to national coach Limba Ram, alcohol does not help archers boost their performance. "I have heard players abroad take limited doses of alcohol on advice of their coaches to help soothe their nerves. But it doesn't happen in India."

"During competition an archer has to draw and watch the flag to know when the wind has stopped and release at that particular moment. I don't think someone who's taken alcohol would be in a position to synchronise that," said Limba Ram.

As for the collection of samples (urine and blood), it will start from the day the Games Village opens to, September 23.

Gagan Narang to participate in Commonwealth Games

India’s ace rifle shooter Gagan Narang said Tuesday that he would participate in the Commonwealth Games here from Oct 3-14.

Earlier this month Narang, who was overlooked for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for the third consecutive time, felt he was demotivated and didn’t want to take part in the Games.

But Narang, who won the bronze at the World Championship in Munich, said that the overwhelming response from well-wishers, family and the shooting fraternity has moved him.

‘I have made up my mind to shoot in the coming Commonwealth Games. There is no short of motivation when you see so many people support you and they want you to succeed. Doesn’t matter now if I did not get the award. It is a story of the past for me. I shall start training for the games shortly,’ Gagan said in a statement issued by indianshooting.com.

‘I was on a break after coming back from Munich, in this period I consulted my family, my coaches and the federation for my future course of actions. The only answer I got from all of them was shoot to prove a point. Although my achievements of the last four years have been ignored, I have decided to just keep doing my job from now on, which is to win medals and glory for India,’ he said.

‘I feel winning a medal for my county is even bigger than any award. If the government feels I deserve any award in future I will get it but from now on I would never expect it or will even talk about it,’ Gagan said.

Commonwealth Games chief to revisit Delhi venues

Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell starts a two-day inspection visit Wednesday amid admissions from organizers that venues still don't have safety certificates, and simmering corruption allegations that are overshadowing the New Delhi Games.

Fennell will inspect venues, some of which are still under construction, and get the latest updates on preparations from organizers of the Oct. 3-14 event, while also meeting government officials to get assurances on security and logistics issues.

Organizing committee vice-chairman Randhir Singh said the competition arenas are ready.

"We have things under control … Whatever little needs to be done, will be completed by Aug. 25," said Singh, who is also secretary general of the Indian Olympic Association and the Olympic Council of Asia.

He wasn't so confident about all of the facilities.

"There are concerns about completion of some practice venues. Also, we have not yet received the safety certificates for all venues," he admitted.

Fennell, who had expressed satisfaction about the level of preparations on a visit in March, may not be as encouraged with less than 50 days to the opening ceremonies.

"The corruption charges are a major concern," Fennell said ahead of the visit. "The organizing committee has to secure a report on progress of venues as well as fitness, fire, health and safety from government departments."

Fennell is putting the onus on the Games organizers after they repeatedly blamed government departments for delays in handing over venues.

The organizing committee, led by Suresh Kalmadi, has been bombarded with allegations over the past few weeks involving the excessive cost of purchasing equipment, issuing contracts without following due process and the departure of some key partners.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently intervened, appointing a group of ministers to oversee preparations, visit venues each week to monitor progress and ensure contractors meet fresh deadlines.

He also launched investigations into allegations of wrongdoing, saying: "All those found guilty should face severe and exemplary punishment."

His actions came in the wake of two top Indian officials being fired amid corruption allegations relating to contracts awarded in London for the launch of the Queen's Baton Relay.

The Indian media has also reported on the exorbitant costs of purchasing treadmills, refrigerators and identity cards following recent audits. Premium Brands, the official merchandizing company for the Games, cited frustration at the slow progress of planning for pulling out of its contract to supply items, including souvenir shirts and caps.

"We have decided to withdraw as the project has got delayed too much," the company's chairman, Suresh Kumar, said last week. "We will never come forward to partner the Indian Olympic Association again."

While Fennell will come seeking a lot of answers from organizers, the Indian government will have questions for him.

Indian Sports Minister M.S. Gill has called for Fennell to bring star athletes, rather than masses of administrators and staff from national teams.

"I request Mr. Fennell to bring stars and not thousands of officials, because it is the stars that people want to see," Gill said in the wake of the withdrawals by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has predicted the Commonwealth Games will be a success, despite all the problems in advance.

"I'm optimistic, in spite of everything written by pessimist media, for the Commonwealth Games," Rogge told The Associated Press in an interview on the sidelines of the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. "They will show the capacity of India to organize great Games."

Former CWG official claims Rs 22.8 lakh refund

Suspended Commonwealth Games  Organising Committee deputy director general Sanjay Mohindroo is in for more trouble. CNN-IBN has accessed an important Organising Committee note questioning Mohindroo's claims of Rs 22.8 lakh as reimbursements.

An advance of £ 127,930.40 was given to Mohindroo for managing the London leg of the Queen's Baton Relay but Mohindroo showed expenditure of £ 160,526.90 and claimed the difference of Rs 22.8 lakh as reimbursements.

But Organising Committee Accounts Director has questioned Mohindroo's claims.

"A statement is required to be prepared regarding amount sanctioned and expenditure of Mr Mohindroo. Does it mean that he spent an amount of Rs 22.80 lakh out of his own funds in UK?" the director asked.

CNN-IBN asks: How did Mohindroo spend Rs 22.8 lakh from his own pocket in a foreign land? Was AM Films awarded contract by Mohindroo to get inflated bills to justify his reimbursement claims?

Mohindroo was sacked from the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee and has already been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged financial irregularities.

Mohindroo was suspended and then removed from the Organising Committee along with joint director generals TS Darbari and M Jeyachandran after a committee submitted its report on charges of corruption during the Queen's Baton Relay launch in London in October 2009.

Jai hold! Games song delayed for 'tweaking'

VENUES are not the only thing running late for the Delhi Commonwealth Games. Now the theme song has been delayed.

Slumdog Millionaire composer A. R. Rahman flew into Delhi for a news conference about the keenly awaited jingle yesterday but could sing only the first line: ''Oh yaaro, India bula liya'' (''Friends we have called you to India'').

''I can't give you much because we are still in progress,'' Rahman said.

The song has been approved "in principle" by a group of ministers overseeing the games but Rahman declined to release it at Monday's press conference. "The committee has approved it but we want to release it 10 days later. We are tweaking it a little to make it even more exciting," Rahman said.

But Indian TV channels described the song's delay as ''more embarrassment'' for organisers who have been plagued by unfinished venues, reports of shoddy building work and allegations of corruption.

The group of ministers is understood to have discussed the song at a three-hour meeting on Sunday. The Indian Express quoted a highly placed source saying that ''ego hassles'' within the group had contributed to the delayed release.

Rahman, who won two Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire, including best original song for Jai Ho!, will perform the Games song called Swagatham - meaning ''Welcome'' - at the opening ceremony on October 3.

Alleged CWG scam: Who is Craig McLatchey, did he get business favours?

The allegations of mammoth corruption in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games are steadily scaling up to some of the senior-most men involved with organizing the event.  And they aren't all Indian.

First, an interim audit report suggested that expensive contracts had been awarded indiscriminately by Suresh Kalmadi, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Mike Fennell, the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation and Mike Hooper, CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Now, NDTV has unraveled a complicated trail of ownership that shows it   special favour sand contracts might have been given to man named Craig McLatchey, who was, till recently, a member of the Commonwealth Games Coordination Commission.

Originally from Australia, McLatchey is a resident of Switzerland, and is the sole owner of Event Knowledge Service (EKS), a company hired for 29 crores as a technical consultant for the Games, in partnership with financial consultants Ernst and Young. EKS has in the past worked on the Sydney Olympics and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. An interim report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said the EKS deal was an example of "undue favours."

NDTV has accessed documents that show McLatchey is also a stake-holder in Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM), which, till recently, had a contract worth 230 crores to find sponsors and international advertisers for the Games.  SMAM was fired by Kalmadi earlier this month for "non-performance" - the Games have about 400 crores in sponsorship as against a target of more than 900 crores. Most of the sponsors are Indian Public Sector Units (PSUs) who made it clear that they would not be willing to foot the bill for any sort of commission for SMAM.

In a statement to NDTV, McLatchey has said that he had no connection with SMAM.  However, McLatchey owns 50 percent of Ithaca Private Limited, which in turn owns a super share or "F Class" stake in a firm named ERIS. Further down the food chain, ERIS owns 26 percent of SMAM Australia. McLatchey says his relationship with Bushell and SMAM is a personal one with no business dimension.

"On any occasion where EKS representatives, including me, have considered that there was a potential for conflict between the parties (not necessarily a conflict of interest) we have advised both parties and excluded ourselves from any proceedings or deliberations," said Craig McLatchey.

SMAM, head-quartered in Melbourne, is owned by Mike Bushell, acknowledged by McLatchey as a close friend.  McLatchey is a former chief executive of the Australian Olympic Committee, while Bushell has been the marketing agent for major sports events including the Sydney Olympics. 

The coordination commission was set up by the Commonwealth Games Federation, based in London, and headed by Mike Hooper.

McLatchey attended meetings of this Commission in Delhi till May 2009.  Then, for reasons not clear, he stepped down.

Mike Hooper, the Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Games Federation, told NDTV that McLatchey declared a conflict of interest before his EKS won a consulting contract for the Games.  He also said "due process" was followed.

Wonder how CWG OC slept for so long: Bishen Bedi

Amazed by the Delhi Commonwealth Games Organising Committee's laxity, spin legend Bishen Singh Bedi on Tuesday said the corruption allegations against it and the shoddy construction work at the venues have put paid to India's chances of hosting multi-sports events in near future.

Bedi said the CWG organisers have taken the country for a ride and a question mark hangs over whether Delhi can deliver a successful Games in October.

He, however, denied reports that he has asked other Commonwealth countries to boycott the Games.

"I have not said that other countries should boycott it.

Why should I say that but the allegations of corruption and the absolute lack of preparedness have caused a huge embarrassment to the country," he said.

"I can't say if India should not bid for mega events like the Asian Games or the Olympic Games but surely the whole chaos surrounding the CWG has seriously damaged the name of the country.

"The impact (of the controversies) is there to see. So many top athletes have pulled out of the Games. The organisers have taken the countrymen for a ride for their own vested interests," he said.

Bedi wondered how the organisers failed to complete the venues 45 days before the Games after getting the hosting rights seven years earlier.

"They got the Games in 2003 and I wonder how on earth they slept for so long. They started construction in 2009. In contrast, 2012 London Olympics organisers are well ahead of schedule," he said.

"Indians lack national discipline. Otherwise all these things would not have happened. You see the city is in chaos and more rain is expected in the coming days. I think Delhi is not a fit place to host mega sporting events till the civic chaos is addressed," said Bedi, who scalped 266 wickets from 67 Tests between 1967 and 1979.

Bedi also blamed the Commonwealth Games Federation for the whole mess, saying that the CGF top brass should have been more alert and pointed out the slippages strongly.

"The CGF officials should have taken stronger action.

They know that slippages have been there from the beginning. Now they have washed their hands off the situation. It has become very serious," he said.

Bedi ridiculed top Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi's plea that he was not aware of what his subordinates were doing even as corruption scandals rocked the Games.

"The top brass knew everything. Once the whole mud comes out they try to wash off their hands and engage in a blame game," said the legendary left-arm spinner.

He also said the creation of an empowered committee of secretaries by the government to oversee the preparations of the Games will not serve any purpose.

"For so long the government kept sleeping, what will the committee do now with only 45 days to go to the Games. It can only worsen the situation," he said.