The Hindu : Sport : C'wealth Games: Grand plans in place

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 12, 2005

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Sport - Sports : General

C'wealth Games: Grand plans in place

Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi laid out grand plans to make the sporting extravaganza successful despite falling short on the budget for the current financial year.

This year's budget had an allocation of Rs. 69 crore to prepare for the Commonwealth Games, but only Rs. 10 crore has been received so far, the first Annual General Body meeting of the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi, was told.

Nevertheless, the Organising Committee decided to go ahead with its plans to send a 2000-member troupe "to showcase India and Delhi" during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

India has been allotted a 20-minute slot in the closing ceremony and "we need to do our best to show that we are ready as we receive the Commonwealth Games flag", said the Chairman of the Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi.

With regard to getting infrastructure in place and preparing the personnel for the conduct of the Games, the Organising Committee decided to have regular visits, first to Melbourne and then to Beijing, the host of the 2008 Olympic Games.

The operating budget of the Games had been pegged at Rs. 802.23 crore while the expected revenue would be Rs. 909.60 crore, which would include sponsorship fees, host broadcasting rights, merchandising and licensing, and ticketing, the meeting was told.

The mascot of the Delhi Games will be a smiling tiger in athletic gear. As a name for the mascot is yet to be finalised, the Organising Committee proposed that various schools in Delhi should organise a competition to arrive at a `best suited' name.

Mr. Kalmadi informed the meeting that the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) had lifted the cap of 15 sports disciplines and that India wished to add a few more to the list. A few disciplines such as archery, cricket, tennis, judo, billiards and snooker, handball, rowing and basketball may make it to the 2010 Games. The final decision rests with the CGF General Assembly. "We definitely want cricket. But we need assurance that the best teams play in the Games, unlike the experience of 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games," said Mr. Kalmadi. "We propose to have 20-overs-a-side matches," he added.

The dates of the 2010 Commonwealth Games are fixed as October 3 to 14 after the CGF gave its approval.

The Chief Minister of Delhi, Sheila Dikshit, said that she was both nervous and inspired to get Delhi ready in time for the Games.

As it was announced that more sports disciplines other than the 15 already chosen could be added to the Games, some of the corporate representatives who attended the meeting, pressed for sports other than those mentioned in the standby list. Golf and chess were two popular choices.

The AGM passed the first Annual Report of the Organising Committee for the period ended March 31, 2005 and also approved the audited statement of accounts for the same period, and the budget for the year 2005-06.

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