The Commonwealth games taking place this October 3-14 in Delhi is something that brings pride to the hearts of Indians. It will be a time for India to showcase to the world who Indians are, and what we can provide to this world. The games will further increase India’s image and bring in greater tourist revenue. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. If carried out well, the Commonwealth games will provide a great perspective about this burgeoning county.
Recent reports suggest India will be sending 61 athletes to the games. Like Canada during the winter Olympics, there will be plenty of people hoping for a gold medal on home soil. India placed fourth at the last commonwealth games with a final tally of 50 medals, but will surely be looking to place first this time. India finished right behind Canada in the 2006 games, which finished with a total of 86 medals.
The games will feature sports such as: Archery, Aquatics, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Netball, Rugby 7s, Shooting, Squash, Table Tennis, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling.
While there is much to look forward to in these games, there are also problems associated with it. Particularly, the process of putting these games together is not going well. On the weekend of August 14-15, after hearing for weeks about accusations of corruption, reports about delays in building infrastructure or building improper infrastructure, and a shore of other issues, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had to step in. Prime Minister Singh took a drastic step by removing control of the Organizing Committee, headed by Suresh Kalmadi, and giving power to a Group of Ministers (GoM). The ministers will have to ensure that preparations are carried through on time and that they meet world-class standards.
The breadth of the problems with these games does not end there. One of the accusations put forth against the organizers is that they are guilty of hiring child workers, and paying them as low as 150 rupees for their work. Other problems include the misappropriation of funds. There are plenty of accusations going around about where some of the money given to the Organizing Committee has gone off to. Recently, there were two members of the committee who were fired. Kalmadi has also been asked to resign by many of his critics.
These are some of the vast issues that India will have to deal with as it prepares itself to accept countries from the world over into their home. But, one should not dwell on the negatives affixed to how the games are coming about. Much of the world will be looking to India in October. It will be a time to celebrate Indian culture, party, and take satisfaction in being Indian. All the negatives aside, it will be a time to show the world that India is growing, and will be a great force one day.
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What You Need to Know about Commonwealth Games 2010
1. India will be hosting the Commonwealth Games for the first time. This will be the 19th round of the Commonwealth Games.
2. The 2010 Commonwealth Games is going to be largest Commonwealth Games event ever. There are going to be 17 sports and over 285 events. Also 72 nations will be competing against each other.
The Motto of the 2010 Commonwealth Games is “Come out and play”.
3. Tennis matches will be making their debut at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Even though the sport had been on the approval list, it is only making its appearance now.
4. It has been estimated that there are over 415000 daily wage workers working on the projects related to 2010 Commonwealth Games. It is unfortunate that most of them are being paid less than minimum wages.
5. Commonwealth Games is the only multinational event in which the home nations of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland – send separate teams to theCommonwealth Games unlike at Olympics.
6. The 2010 Commonwealth Games are going to be the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever and are going to cost the capital more than US $1.6 Billion Dollars. This does not include the amount that the capital has already spend on the infrastructure development in the city.
7. It has been estimated that over $1.94 Billion Dollars was spent on modernizing the Capital’s International Airport.
8. It has been predicted that the Commonwealth Games at Delhi will increase the capital’s GDP by 49 percent and that means it will become the richest city in the country followed by Mumbai. The year 2010 will be the first time ever GDP of Delhi will be more than Mumbai since the country’s Independence.
9. The 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games will be the first games ever to be recognized as “Green Commonwealth Games”. This is despite the fact that there had been a felling of “heritage trees” in the forest area to make way for the game facilities.
10. The Queen’s Baton has been equipped with modern technologies such as GPS, Camera and SMS Functionality. This will prevent the baton from getting lost, allow the user to take pictures and also will send messages to the baton bearers throughout the day.
