Pakistan decides to send 75-strong contingent to Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010

Pakistan has decided to send a 75-member contingent to represent the country in the XIX Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi from October 3 to 14.

The Pakistan Commonwealth Games Association and Pakistan Olympic Association President Lt. Gen. Syed Arif Hasan told reporters after a general council meeting here on Thursday that due to lack of funds it was not possible to send athletes or players abroad to get high profile training prior to the Games.

“Pakistan will take part in athletics, swimming, boxing, hockey, squash, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling,” he said. “We have a fair chance to win medals in tennis, weightlifting, wrestling and hockey. (Tennis star) Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has confirmed his participation and his presence will be a big inspiration for Pakistan as he is a medal prospect.”

Lt. Gen. Hasan said he was in touch with Sports Ministry to start preparations for the Games as Pakistan would also participate in the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, Asian Games in Guangzhou and Asian Beach Games in Muscat. “Preparations should be started as soon as possible as participation in these elite events is a challenging task and requires adequate training and grooming of players,” he said.

Terrorists vow to target 2010 Commonwealth Games in India

The terror group al-Qaida has come out and said this week that they will target the Commonwealth Games in India later this year.

And like other countries competing in the Commonwealth Games in October in New Delhi, Bermuda officials are concerned by the deadly threat.

The Asia Times published a message reportedly from guerrilla commander Ilyas Kashmiri, whose Kashmir-based 313 Brigade is an operational arm of al-Qaida. The message warns of potential attacks on the Hockey World Cup, the IPL cricket tournament and the Commonwealth Games.

"We warn the international community not to send their people to the 2010 Hockey World Cup, IPL and Commonwealth Games. Nor should their people visit India - if they do, they will be responsible for the consequences," the Asia Times quoted a translated message as saying.

The message was not verified, but the Asia Times said it had interviewed the leader of the group previously.

Bermuda Olympic Association (BOA) president Judy Simons said yesterday: "That is not a comforting feeling."

Simons, who is still in Vancouver at the Winter Olympics, said that Bermuda's Chef de Mission for the Commonwealth Games, Stan Douglas, would be travelling to New Delhi next month for the Chefs' meeting.

"Obviously that will be the number one issue for conversation," she added.

John Hoskins, former head of the BOA and who is the vice president of the Americas region of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said yesterday: "Obviously since the Mumbai attack the word has gotten out that you have to be extremely careful for the Commonwealth Games - and they have put in all sorts of measures to keep the Games secure.

"The Commonwealth Games Federation themselves have hired a company to go there regularly and assess the capabilities of the security programmes put in place by the organisers. And they are very happy with the progress with the security which is being put in place."

Hoskins, who first represented Bermuda as an Olympic official at the 1972 Munich Olympics when Palestinian terrorists murdered Israeli athletes, said: "It (the threat of terror attacks at major Games) is one of those things. You are doing all you can and everybody involved are doing all they can (to protect the athletes and public) but once again you don't know if someone is going to come along with a bomb around his neck."

Hoskins did say that before the Commonwealth Games take place in October, the authorities will have the chance to test their security at a number of sports events.

"The Hockey World Cup will be taking place soon - that will be a good test of whether anyone is going to try and do something there. Also it will allow them to test a lot of other things like accreditation systems - to have the procedures in place to make sure that those accredited are the right people. It will be a very good run through before the Games. The IPL (cricket) will also have the same problems. There are a lot of sporting events before the Games and I don't see any reason why they should necessarily target the Commonwealth Games rather than the IPL."

This week during the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Shooting Championships - the first of many test events leading up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games - organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi did little to allay safety fears when he said in big events "security lapses were bound to happen."

Welcoming the Australian and the England team, who like many teams had security apprehensions in the light of al-Qaida's threat, Kalmadi said: "There would be some security lapse here and there but everybody would be safe. All the foreign athletes are very happy with the security."

India this week pledged tight security for upcoming sports events following the terrorist threats.

Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said India would not be deterred from hosting events.

"We are committed to provide security to everybody, including coaches, players, officials and whoever participates," Chidambaram said. "Nobody would be allowed to dictate terms to us."

But some athletes had second thoughts about competing in India after a bombing last Saturday night killed 11 people in a bakery popular with foreigners in the western city of Pune.

Australian cricket great Shane Warne said he was reconsidering playing in the IPL if the threats were proven to be credible.

Warne, who is set to leave later this month for India to captain and coach the Rajasthan Royals, said yesterday that the threat by Pakistani-based militants had him worried.

"The threats of the past 24 hours have certainly got me thinking twice and is of deep concern to athletes across a number of sports," Warne said.

He advised the organisers to consider moving the tournament if the threats are credible. South Africa hosted the Twenty20 IPL tournament last year due to safety concerns in India relating to a general election.

Recent al-Qa'ida threats force many players to reconsider going to India

The 2010 IPL competition is under siege, with the international players' association warning that some members will not attend and that many are concerned by al-Qa'ida threat.

Cricket authorities are worried that any difficulties with the Twenty20 competition will flow-on to the one-day series between Australia and India this year, the Champions League and ODI World Cup next year.

A terrorist organisation with al-Qa'ida links has warned foreign athletes to stay away from the hockey World Cup, the IPL and Commonwealth Games this year in India.

The IPL itself cannot afford another hitch after upsetting franchises and broadcasters last year when it was moved to South Africa after the government refused to guarantee adequate security because of general elections.

Head of the Federation of International Cricketers Association Tim May warned on the BBC yesterday that players were agitated by the threat.

"There is an extremely high level of concern from a number of players from a number of countries about the IPL and security," May said.

"I think you'll find that some players are more risk averse than others and will probably stay at home."

The situation in India appears to be deteriorating with Jaipur police claiming they have received credible intelligence relating to a terrorist threat directed at the one-day international between India and South Africa tomorrow.

"We had previously been advised by security experts that a high-profile event such as the IPL, leading up to the Commonwealth Games, may represent a significant target for terrorism," May said.

"It's obviously concerning, though not necessarily surprising, to hear about those specific threats.

"It's up to the individual players whether they go to the IPL. All we can gauge an opinion on is the number of concerned calls we have received in the last few weeks. Let's just say those calls are increasing by the day.

"Until that review is complete I'm not in a position to answer whether the security arrangements are adequate to cover the risks and I haven't seen any plans. A lot will ride on players' decisions after the delivery of this independent security report."

Early in the week May had condemned the arrogance of the IPL which, under instruction from the BCCI, will not deal with players' associations or directly provide them with security reports.

Australian players, like those in other parts of the world, are waiting on a report from their representatives.

Australian Cricketers Association chief executive Paul Marsh said Friday that the mention of al-Qa'ida had shaken his members.

"We still haven't received the report yet and once we get that we will obviously know what the next steps are," Marsh said.

"There is definitely a concern, not just with our players either.

"We are all working off the same consultants and the same reports but the fact that it is an al- Qa'ida threat is certainly concerning many."

Players are reluctant to express their concerns publicly as anyone who does incurs the wrath of their franchise or the IPL itself.

This week, Shane Warne said he was taking the threats seriously and speculated that the tournament may have to be moved.

He quickly retreated from that position and tournament chief Lalit Modi claimed the Rajasthan Royals player had been "misquoted".

Shaun Tait came out yesterday and said he was eager to attend.

"I've been very keen.

"The last couple of years I haven't been able to play, so I've been looking forward to the IPL this year and I hope it can go ahead," Tait said.

"All the security stuff, that's out of my league, but I hope it does go ahead and everything's fine and I can play.

Buea - Hommage to Commonwealth Wrestling Gold Medallist

Rebecca Mwambo Ndolo, beat an Indian to earn the gold for Cameroon at the Commonwealth Games in Jalandhar India last 17 December.

Twenty-five-year old Rebecca Mwambo Ndolo who won a gold medal for Cameroon in Free Wrestling at the Jalandhar ( India ) Commonwealth Games has been received in the South West Governor's office. Ndolo beat an Indian challenger on December 17, 2009 to win the gold. She hails from Bokwaongo-Buea and has been on the international wrestling scene since 1997 when she defeated a hefty boy to the amazement of the Buea population.

Receiving Ndolo on behalf of the Governor, the Secretary General, Peter Tieh Ndeh, urged other athletes to emulate her humility, performance and patriotism. The Secretary General was visibly impressed that the gold medallist was from his own jurisdiction.

Accompanied by the Bokwaongo elite including Mbwaye Moanga Emmanuel, her coach, Nganda Tonga Samuel, her parents Lydia and William Mwambo and the Regional Delegate of Sports and Physical Education, Abel Ekema; Ndolo received an ovation for her brilliant performance in India.

Ndolo is said to be taking after her father who was the Buea Wrestling champion in 1955. Before engaging in wrestling competitions she earned her First School Leaving Certificate in the Cameroon Baptist Convention Primary School Mutengene. She later enrolled into Government Technical High School Buea where she did building construction and later moved to the Cameroon OIC (Buea) where she obtained a diploma in building construction.

Yet, Rebecca Mwambo Ndolo brought what she calls problems to the Bakweri tribe because they did not permit women to wrestle or fight in public competitions. But she stood her grounds and was identified by her coach, Nganda Tonga , who started training her for international competitions. Ndolo won a gold medal in 1999 in Yaounde. In 2001, she dropped to a bronze in her own hometown, Buea. In Abuja, 2003, Ndolo won a bronze during the All-Africa-Games. The year 2005/2006 brought joy to Ndolo when she won two straight gold in national competitions in Yaounde and was offered a two-year CONFEJES scholarship to train in Tunisia. After training, she has participated and won battles in Algeria, Baku-Azerbaijan, Ankara (Turkey) and Haparanda (Sweden).

Take your beggars back, 10 states told

The Delhi government wants the streets clear of beggars for the Commonwealth Games in October. And it’s come up with a plan: since most beggars are from outside the city, it wants them repatriated to their home states.

The government has sent letters to the chief secretaries of 10 states, asking them to take back the beggars.

“The letters have been sent... This will be done ahead of the Games,” said Manoj Paridha, secretary, social welfare, Delhi government.

Though comprehensive data is missing, a sample survey in August 2009 of 11 shelters — capacity 2,018 — run by the Delhi government revealed that most outstation beggars came from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. That month, of the 1,518 beggars rounded up by the Delhi Police anti-begging squad, 1,099 were from outside the city.

Letters were sent on February 12 to West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh too.

“Most of the beggars said Delhi gave them a better opportunity,” said a social welfare department official.

“Even if they begged for two days, they earned for the entire week,” he added.

“So far, we’ve received a response from only West Bengal. They have asked us for details of the beggars and what needs to be done,” said the official.

“We will take a final decision after we get all the responses and get our survey done,” he added.

“Why should we go back to our home state? We have been living here for many years,” said Sushila (35), a native of Jodhpur who begs at the Tolstoy Marg-Janpath crossing.

“There is not even a drop of water to drink back home,” she added.

“I was born here. We have not been told about any such order,” said Noora (12), who hails from Bihar.

Railways and MCD spar over Minto Bridge

The Northern Railway’s plan to add two more tracks to and widen the the historic Minto Bridge will now miss the Commonwealth Games deadline due to a dispute with the MCD.

Anand Swaroop, PRO, Northern Railways said the decision to de-link the project from the Games was “unanimous”. As per plan, the MCD and NDMC were supposed to redevelop and widen the areas under their respective jurisdiction.

However, MCD claims that although most part of the project remains on paper, the civic agency has already completed most work under its jurisdiction.

Northern Railways and the NDMC however, have not carried out any work under their jurisdiction so far, due to delay in getting requisite permissions.

8 months to go, OC floats fresh tenders for caterers

With only eight months to go for the Commonwealth Games, the organizing committee is finally looking beyond venues and consistently missed deadlines. It has now floated a tender to look for caterers for not only the Games Village but also for the various venues, including Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. And if the initial response is anything to go by, the OC may finally be getting something right.

Lalit Bhanot, spokesperson for the OC, said, "Earlier last year, the OC had chosen a caterer for the Games Village. However, it was felt that with only one quotation coming in, it wasn't the best decision to choose that firm. Instead, we preferred to float fresh tenders."

The decision, however, has drawn criticism from within the OC. Sources in the OC confirmed that a decision on selecting the firm as master caterer for the Games would only be taken in late March, after the technical and commercial bids were studied.

"Thereafter, it will take another three-four months for the kitchens to be set up and the menus to be finalized. It's a time consuming process," said a senior OC official. With venue operations schedules going off-track due to construction delays, sources said setting up of the catering, a major component of the venue operations, needed to be in place. "It's not just catering at the Games Village but also at sports venues and the designated accommodations that have been earmarked for the delegates. The logistics involved are huge," added the source.

The late decision to go in for floating fresh tenders, added sources, could only delay the function.

For Bhanot though, it doesn't seem to be a worry. "The response to our re-tendering has been very good. By July, the logistics will be in place and this will give plenty of time to prepare for the Games," added Bhanot.

Incidentally, the caterers for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne were chosen more than a year in advance. "There is time. It's not that we are looking for food to be made for a thousand-strong contingent from tomorrow," added Bhanot. While that may be debatable, the fact remains that OC's efforts to get its accommodation plans in place have also been lagging behind. Neither the DDA flats nor the hotels are ready even as its venue planning refuses to get off the ground.