Wednesday, December 30, 2009

CWG officials rule out England’s pullout

CWG officials rule out England’s pullout

New Delhi/London, Dec 30: Indian and English Commonwealth Games’ officials on Wednesday denied British media reports which said England could pull out of the 2010 Games in New Delhi over fears that their athletes would be targeted by Pakistani terrorists.

Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of 2010 Organising Committee (OC), denied all such reports.

“There is no truth in it. The British Commonwealth Games have also denied this report,” he said in New Delhi.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Games: Security equipment to cost Rs 300 cr

Security for the Commonwealth Games will be one of the costliest, with equipment cost alone going over Rs 300 crore. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies, will have security gadgets worth Rs 51 crore.

At Rs 41 crore, the Indira Gandhi Stadium follows close behind, while the practice venues at the Delhi University have a much lesser security budget of Rs 1.5 crore.

The Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), set up by the Government of India in 1967, will provide CCTV cameras and other security gadgets for the venues.

H C Kalra, general manager of ECIL, told Newsline that the ECIL develops technologies for defence and security purposes, and that they provide equipment to the Defence Ministry and the Delhi Secretariat.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Commonwealth Games gold is next target: Chetan

Amit Kumar Das

New Delhi, Dec 25 (PTI) Ace Indian shuttler Chetan Anand dreams of winning a gold medal in next year's Commonwealth Games and says he would prepare for the mega event in a such way that he gets regular match practice and also improve on fitness front.

The winner of the recently held Syed Modi Grand Prix is hoping that home conditions would help him realise his dream.

"I am aiming to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games next year. Playing at home will be a huge advantage and I think I should exploit the conditions to put pressure on my rivals and play to my strength," Chetan told PTI.

Talking about his preparation for the next season, Chetan said focus would be on better planning with major emphasis on fitness.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

‘Progress, but Games still face substantial risk’

Noting that the Organising Committee (OC) is “turning the corner” and a “substantial progress” has been made in the Commonwealth Games preparations since October, the CGF’s Coordination Commission, however, warns in its report that the 2010 event still risks an operational failure as many key functional areas are lagging behind.

The eight-member CoCom, headed by Commonwealth Games Federation treasurer Austin Sealy, visited the Capital last week for its sixth periodical review of the Games’ progress.

“The OC and its delivery partners have demonstrated substantial progress since the last CoCom, in particular the last two months,” the report said.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Additional machinery, staff to speed up CWG preparation: Govt

STAFF WRITER 15:25 HRS IST
New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) The apprehensions regarding the progress of work notwithstanding, the Indian government today insisted that the venues for next year's Commonwealth Games would be completed on time by deploying additional machinery and increasing the number of supervisory staff.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Prakashbapu Patil said the the progress of work was being monitored closely.

"The work on all the competition venues is progressing at a rapid pace, recovery plans have been worked out, wherever required, which inter-alia, includes increase in the number of supervisory staff and labour, increase in working hours, deployment of additional machinery, close monitoring and procurement of critical and special items, to compete the work within the revised targets," Patil said.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

MAMC to take care of 2010 Games athletes' dental health

New Delhi: Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) was on Tuesday entrusted the task to attend to dental emergency and to provide complete dental health care to over 7,000 athletes and delegates during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS), which is a part of the MAMC, will also set up its base in Talkatora Stadium and National Stadium during the mega sports event in October next year.

"Apart from the designated hospitals and Games Village, emergency health service facilities will also be set up at the Games stadiums like National Stadium, where hockey will be played, and Talkatora Indoor Stadium where boxing will take place. Both are dangerous sports and need medical attention. The emergency services will be backed by well equipped ambulances, medical surgeons and support staff," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said.

"The other areas of health emergency services will be covered by G.B.Pant Hospital. Apart from these nodal health care centres, a state of the art well-equipped, round-the-clock polyclinic will be set up at the Commonwealth Games village."

"These facilities will be operational a day before the Village opens until one day after the Village is officially closed," Dikshit said after inaugurating a dental health fair at MAMC campus.

MAIDS principal Mahesh Verma said, "The hospital is ready for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games. There shall be two operating dental chairs and two dental surgeons posted round the clock in three shift duties. Besides, one Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon shall be on call to take care of trauma of the head at the Games Village." IANS

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Nehru stadium to miss March deadline

NEW DELHI: As the first day of the review meeting of the coordination commission (CoCom) with the organising committee kicked off on Monday, sources admitted that the OC has a tough job ahead.

From venue operationalization to procurement details, the CoCom would be looking at a much-improved preparation schedule to the Commonwealth Games 2010 — a task that, sources say, could get a jolt with the delay in operations of some of the key venues, specially Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Said a senior official, ‘‘Though most of the venues are expected to be ready on schedule around March, the JN Stadium could get delayed beyond that.’’ This was also discussed at the annual general meeting held earlier this month, where it was revealed that JN Stadium may be handed over to the OC as late as May-June.

Incidentally, the stadium is the venue for not only the opening and closing ceremonies but is also the competitive venue for athletics and weightlifting.

Venue operationalization had been one of the major concerns of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) at the general assembly meeting held in October this year. At that time, CGF chief Mike Fennell had raised questions about the OC’s preparedness on this front, apart from other areas of concern like the lack of international experts for various functional areas as well as procurement for the Games. OC officials, however, claimed the concerns raised at that time had all been addressed in the intervening two months.

While Kalmadi said ‘‘considerable progress’’ had been made in all areas since the last CoCom visit in May, he cited advances made in the functioning of the OC with a more relevant workforce as well as the appointment of experts in various key functional areas as right steps. ‘‘Finances are under control, with revenue from sales of TV rights having already exceeded expectations,’’ Kalmadi added.

That the OC is expecting positive feedback from the review meeting is apparent as secretary, ministry of sports, Sindhushree Khullar, candidly admitted that constructive advise was expected from the CoCom. ‘‘A lot of time has been spent in explaining things instead of getting on with the task of ensuring the Games are conducted well. The level of monitoring the progress of the Games has gone up. Your (CoCom) advice will help us get on with it,’’ said Khullar.

CoCom members were tightlipped about the meeting, with Mike Hooper, CGF representative in India refusing to comment on how the presentations went. The CoCom is expected to present its report to Fennell later this week

Soruce:TOI

Monday, December 14, 2009

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to miss CWG deadline

NEW DELHI: As the first day of the review meeting of the coordination commission (CoCom) with the organising committee kicked off on Monday, sources admitted that the OC has a tough job ahead.

From venue operationalization to procurement details, the CoCom would be looking at a much-improved preparation schedule to the Commonwealth Games 2010 - a task that, sources say, could get a jolt with the delay in operations of some of the key venues, specially Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

C'wealth Games low on priority, British gymnasts pull out

The top British gymnasts will skip the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi but the media here is not sure whether it was the fear of 'Delhi Belly' or the scheduling of the event that prompted such reaction from the sports administrators in London.

'The Daily Telegraph' reported it was the fear of 'Delhi Belly', which forced British gymnasts Beth Tweddle, Louis Smith and Daniel Keatings to skip Commonwealth Games, which is still a good 10 months away.

"It's not just the travel and jet lag but the potential for tummy bugs and diarrhoea that exists in making the trip. We just cannot afford to take the risk when so much is at stake," Eddie van Hoof, British Gymnastics' performance director, was quoted as saying by the daily.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Cong may fail to hold Commonwealth Games on time, says Rudy

JAMSHEDPUR: From politics to sports, BJP is taking postshots at the Congress wherever and whenever possible. Now, casting aspersions on the timely hosting of the Commonwealth Games next year, party spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy expressed doubt over the timely hosting of the Commonwealth Games next year.

Taking strong exception to the repeated deferment of the 34th National Games in the state, he said what the Congress has done with the National Games in Jharkhand will also be the fate of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. "I am afraid the Commonwealth Games will not be held on time. The Congress-led UPA government at the Centre will bring shame to us in the world the way it has done in the national circuit (read National Games)," alleged Rudy.

In the context of the Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennel's concerns over the timely hosting of the Games, Rudy said: "In the year 2003, India earned the right to host the 19th edition of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But the infrastructure is not ready till date."

The BJP leader further accused the Congress of being involved neck deep in the corrupt and unethical activities of Jharkhand. He said former Governor Syed Sibtey Razi was one of those who is accountable for the financial irregularities as well as the successive postponement of the 34th National Games in the state.

"The state is under President's Rule for the past one year and before that it was ruled by the Congress-backed UPA government for three-and-a-half years. Still, the National Games could not be held," said Rudy, while talking to the media on Wednesday afternoon.

Claiming that the arrest of former chief minister Madhu Koda was a political move of the Congress to regain lost ground in the state, he said: "Initially, it (Congress) took a calculated risk by framing corruption charges against Koda. Later, when it realized that people in general held Congress equally responsible for Koda's misdeeds, it (Congress) dared to arrest the former CM." source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/