Sharath Kamal leads India's Table Tennis brigade in CWG

With World No. 39 Sharath Kamal leading the challenge, India can expect a few medals in table tennis. The lanky Chennai player clinched the men's singles title in Melbourne four years ago, and he has what it takes to defend his title.

The Olympian paddler became the first Indian to win an ITTF Pro Tour singles title when he clinched the Egypt Open in Cairo last month.

Earlier in July, he had also won the US Open title in Michigan. After garnering some valuable points with these creditable performances, Sharath became the first Indian to break into the World top-50.

Yet it is not going to be a cakewalk for India as Singapore paddlers can throw a challenge at the hosts in both individual and team events.

Expectations are high from India because they are the hosts and also the defending champions in the team event. Hence, Sharath and Co need to be on the top of their game and feed off the cheer of the home crowd.

China will not be here but Chinese-origin players representing other countries can be difficult nuts to crack. For example, Singapore have a few players who are Chinese and may stretch the Indians in both team and individual events. Other teams like Nigeria and England can also spring a surprise.

But then, it's not a difficult task to outplay them. Sharath, for that matter, have the experience of playing against Chinese opponents in international tournaments.

In fact, he had beaten a Chinese player in the final of the Cairo Open. Other Indians who play on pro-tour also are now aware of Chinese tactics. So, it may not be very difficult for Indian players to showcase their strength and confidence.

Currently, the Indian team is going through the paces at a training camp in Zhengding, China, where their strengths and weaknesses are being identified.

The players' improvement is visible under the tutelage of Italian coach Massimo Constantine, particularly if Sharath's performances are taken into account. The hosts have earned more success with European coaches because the style is similar to the Europeans.

With the government providing support and TTFI also leaving no stone unturned, the future of Indian table tennis looks bright.

CWG medals won by India

table tennis is an optional sport for men and women that was first held in Manchester 2002. Athletes representing 35 countries competed at Melbourne 2006. Table tennis will feature in both Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014.

Gold: 2006 Melbourne: Men's singles, men's team event

Bronze: 2002 Manchester: Men's singles, men's doubles, men's team event; 2006 Melbourne: Women's team event

Core Probables

Men: Achanta Sharath Kamal, Soumyadeep Roy, Subhajit Saha, Anthony Arputhraj Amal Raj, Sourav Chakraborty, Jubin Kumar, Soumyajit Ghosh, Sanil Shankar Shetty, Devesh Karia

Women: Madhurika Suhas Patkar, Divya Chandrashekhar Deshpande, Shamini Kumaresan, Poulomi Ghatak, Mouma Das, Neha Aggarwal, Soumi Mondal, Pooja Vijay Sahasrabudhe

Coaches: Massimo Costantini ( foreign coach), Bhawani Mukherji ( chief coach), Nandini Kulkarni, Manoj Chowhan, Vijaya Sarathi, Rita Jain, T Opendro Singh

No. of exposure trips: 10

World stars: Gao Ning (Singapore), Feng Tianwei (Singapore), Paul Drinkhall (England)
TOI

Aug 31 deadline for CWG to be missed: Jaipal Reddy Read more: Aug 31 deadline for CWG to be missed: Jaipal Reddy

NEW DELHI: Another deadline for completion of projects at the venues for Commonwealth Games here will be missed with union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy saying on Thursday there will be delay by a "couple" of days beyond August 31.

Reddy blamed the rains and delay in delivery of containers for the missed deadline to hand over the games venues to the organisers. The 11-day sporting event is scheduled to start on October 3.

"The schedule is not met strictly. It is being delayed by a couple of days because of rain also and because of delay in delivery of containers," Reddy told reporters after a Group of Ministers (GOM) meeting on the Games.

After extending the time-frame a few times in the past, the Delhi government had fixed August 31 as the latest deadline for completing Games projects.

"There will be a delay by a couple of days and not more than that," Reddy, who heads the GoM, said.

The electronic connectivity in the stadium and outside was discussed threadbare in the GoM meet attended by sports minister MS Gill, tourism minister Kumari Selja, Delhi chief minister Shiela Dikshit, cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar, sports and youth affairs secretary Sindhusree Khullar and other senior officials.

"The main focus was the work to be done by MTNL, TCIL and Prasar Bharati. All of them have given comprehensive reports," said Reddy.

Expressing satisfaction, he said "At the end of the day the communication network is the most important thing. It was reviewed today and we are satisfied that we are on schedule."

About the container problem, he said "all the containers have been cleared and we are in complete control of the situation."

The GoM also took note of rising number of dengue cases in the capital.

Downplaying the dengue threat, Reddy said "We also discussed the situation arising out of dengue. I do not think situation is that alarming and by raising an alarm, we will discourage the athletes."

Asked about the aerostat clearance, he said, "Aerostat is a new kind of device. Earlier we got clearance for balloon. So the technical clearances were required."

The multi-crore aerostat (helium balloon), touted to be a star attraction at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, would be up in the sky by September first week for trials.

The security agencies will undertake a proper check of the balloon and the helium tank would be completely sealed off till the Games.

The aerostat is mounted with cameras that provides a 360-degree viewing experience and has laser projections. It is for the first time that such a massive balloon will be used for any sporting event in India.

The issue of ticket distribution was also taken up by the GoM.

TOI

ndian archers aiming for success

The common complaint against Indian archers for long was that they have always failed to live up to their potential in international tournaments.

There cannot be a better opportunity than the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi next month for the archers to bury that view forever. India named a 12-member strong squad after a selection trial among 64 probables (which was later pruned down to 24). There weren't many surprises except for Tarundeep Rai finding a berth in the recurve side with Beijing Olympian Mangal Singh Champia missing out. But in archery, like most other sports, it's the present form that matters rather than past records and in that respect, Rai fits in perfectly.

The archers made an early start for the CWG with their camp beginning in Kolkata in March 2009. All the probables along with the coaches and support staff were stationed there permanently.

There were no exposure trips but the archers took part in a number of international meets like the different legs of the World Cup and the Asian Grand Prix events in between. Thus, the selected archers are not short on match practice, and are raring to go. As a matter of fact the level of competition that they faced over the past year was much higher than what they are expected to encounter in New Delhi. With no Korea and China in CWG, logically, there is every reason to be optimistic about India's chances of winning a handful of the 24 medals on offer.

The Indian hopes rest mainly on the men's recurve team of Rai, Jayanta Talukdar and Rahul Banerjee. The team had won the gold medal in the Invitational Commonwealth Games Test event staged at the Yamuna Sports Complex in New Delhi during March. Rai also claimed individual gold in that event.
The men's side picked up a gold at World Cup Stage II at Antalya, Turkey also this year. CWG will be one of the biggest events for the compound archers since compound archery is not an Olympic event. The competition in compound category is expected to be much tougher than in recurve category in CWG with teams like Australia, South Africa and Canada all capable of surprising any team.

But still national coach Limba Ram is hopeful of at least two gold medals - in men's and women's team events - from Indian compound archers.

However, the Olympian would have preferred to camp in New Delhi a month before the Games. "It would have been nice if we could have got an opportunity to practise at the venue for some more time. But still I am hopeful that my boys and girls will enjoy home advantage as in archery, conditions play a very important role," Limba said.

Numbers Game:

24: No. of probables
12: Coaches
2: Women in the coaching staff
2: Foreign coaches
4: Support staff
2: Women in support staff
03/2009: Starting time for CWG camp
16: Medals expected.

World stars: Australia's Patrick Coghlan ( 2008 World Cup winner), Canadian Dietmar Trillus (ex-world champion), England's Danielle Brown ( Paralympic gold medallist).

Squad:

Recurve (men): Tarundeep Rai, Jayanta Talukdar, Rahul Banerjee
Recurve (women): Dola Banerjee, L Bombayala Devi, Deepika Kumari
Compound (men): C Srither, C H Jignas, Ritul Chatterjee
Compound (women): Jhanu Hansda, Gagandeep Kaur, Bheigyabati Chanu.

TOI

Time for India to throw a big punch

For long, boxers from India were dismissed simply as street-fighters equipped with haymakers, who led with one's chin and left the ring with a mouse on their face.

With the 2002 gold at the Manchester Commonwealth Games along with a silver and a bronze, India made an attempt to erase the tag of being slow learners of the 'Sweet Science.' But that was not to be. They fell flat on their face again with sub-par performances over the next couple of years including the exit of four boxers in the first round at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

While that was a punch in the gut, the Athens Olympics is still regarded as the rite of passage and 2004 the watershed year in the annals of Indian boxing. The Indians took the beating to heart and learnt a lesson: the usual upper-cuts and hooks gave way to long-range boxing and computer-friendly punches.

"I noticed in Athens that there was no shortage of hard work. We were not fighting clever, that's all," said PK Murlidharan Raja, secretary of IBF, adding, "A judge can get suspended for giving wrong decisions. Therefore, all judges mostly give points on clear straight single punches. Cuban boxers learnt about it early. We were still hooking and swinging wildly to score points."

There was a meeting right after the Athens disaster where 30-odd coaches from across India met and argued on the urgent need to teach their wards the art of straight punches. They even introduced a system at the sub-junior tournaments whereby boxers could be penalized for using the upper-cut and the hook. This helped in fast-tracking the learning process for the junior as well as at the senior level. The result was immediate. Few months later in 2006, pugilists produced their best-ever show by winning the Commonwealth Boxing Championships highlighted by a four-gold haul. They followed it up with five medals at the Melbourne CWG. But the biggest of them all was the corker from Vijender at the Beijing Olympics.

Thus, this time at the Delhi Games, the hosts will field an upbeat and raring-to-go bunch which will target more than five medals from 10 weight categories.

The task, though, is exacting. For one, since most of Indian boxers in the probables list are right-handed as opposed to participants of other countries, who are either ambidextrous or southpaws. When a right-handed boxer charges a leftie, he has to manipulate his technique altogether otherwise he keeps hitting the opposition's guard and scores no points. Secondly, nowadays boxers try to take an early lead and close their guards thereafter. It's essential to know how to pierce it. Indians have trained with these two motives for the last two years. The Games will give them the yield.

Indians boxers have been backed by good preparation, a luxury for most Indian sportspersons. Besides, in combat sports, the horde of madly cheering fans can make champions out of lesser mortals. Vijender, Suronjoy, Nanao & Co. will have plenty of crowd support. They now have to pull the punches.

NUMBER GAME
Core Probables 44
Coaches 07
Foreign Coach 01
Supporting Staff 04
Number of camps/Days 10/552 Days
International Exposure Trips 15
Medals expectations 6 to 7

Foreign stars: Luke Jackson, Alexey Mukhin (both Australia), Khalid Yafai, Iain Weaver and Tom Stalker (all England).

TOI

Ministry seeks more details from AITA on payment row Read more: Ministry seeks more details from AITA on payment row

NEW DELHI: The payment row which prompted top tennis players to issue a Commonwealth Games boycott threat is expected to take another fortnight to resolve as the sports ministry on Monday sought more details of the expenses from the All India Tennis Association to release the money.

AITA Secretary General Anil Khanna and Chairman of the CWG preparations program Jaideep Mukherjea along with other officials on Monday met Rahul Bhatnagar, Joint Secretary (International Sports Division) of the Sports Ministry and discussed the long-pending issue.

Bhatnagar said AITA has provided some data but they need more details about the expenses of all the five players - Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza.

"At least we had something to start with today. We have got some details but we need more details from AITA which they say they will give by this evening or tomorrow morning," Bhatnagar said.

On being asked what those details were, Bhatnagar said, "They have given us the details about the number of tournaments participated by the players in the last two years but we need a certificate which says that their air-fare and hotel stay was not on sponsorship money or from Organisers fund."

"AITA says it has not received all the bills from the players but hopefully they'll find out a way."

The men's team had threatened to pull out of the Games if their dues were not cleared. However, they confirmed their participation after being assured that the matter would be resolved.

Meanwhile, AITA issued a statement claiming that all the issues have been resolved.

"All payment issues regarding elite players have been resolved and with minimum documentation and the ministry has agreed to process the papers at the earliest so that elite players can receive their dues under the CWG preparations within two-three weeks," a statement by Mukherjea said.

Bhatnagar said if AITA submits all details in time, money can be released in another 15 days.

The ministry official said final entitlement of each player can be known only after they have all the documents with them.

He said the government will pay economy class air-fare as per the Balmer Lawrie

TOI

Finally, CWG catering service contracts finalised

NEW DELHI: After months of delay, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC) on Thursday finalised the catering services for the October 3-14 Games.

The CGOC in a statement said that catering for the lounges has been divided into total of eight clusters.

Two clusters have been awarded to Graviss Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. for Rs.5.94 crore, while Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (ICRTC) has got the contract for Rs.1.70 crore for one cluster. The remaining five have been awarded to Seven Seas Pvt. Ltd. for Rs.6.29 crore.

Food packets for CGOC workforce, volunteers and security personnel will be taken care of by AFP Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd. at a cost of Rs.8.75 crore.

To ensure high quality and hygiene, the Organising Committee has proactively engaged TQS Global Manufacturing Systems and TUVSUD, South Asia for Food Safety and Audit.

These two firms will supervise and ensure safety audit checks for the entire food, production and distribution process, including the kitchen distribution mechanism. This contract was worth Rs.88.24 lakh.

All the catering contracts have been awarded to the lowest bidder in respective categories, officials said.

The catering for the Games Village has already been awarded to an Australian firm Delaware North, which has the Taj SATS as its consortium partner. The kitchen at the Village is under installation and will be functional by the first week of September.

TOI

Commonwealth Games tickets to be launched on August 25

NEW DELHI: The 2010 Commonwealth Games tickets will be finally available in retail outlets across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) from Wednesday.

The Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games have attracted the maximum interest, so far contributing 25 per cent of the sales.

Among the sporting events, hockey is the front-runner, accounting for 14 per cent of the tickets sold so far, followed by athletics at 11 per cent and gymnastics at 10 per cent. Swimming is at the fourth spot with 8 per cent share.

Apart from the Indian market, Australia leads the tally with maximum number of buyers for tickets followed by New Zealand and Britain.

Tickets can be bought from 20 selected Central Bank of India branches as well as seven nominated Hero Honda showrooms as well as the IRCTC outlet in Central Delhi. All the ticket related information regarding list of the outlets and booking is available on www.tickets.cwgdelhi2010.org.

Apart from Delhi, tickets will also be available in Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad.

An added incentive for ticket-holders is free Metro and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) rides on the day of the event, including the Opening and Closing ceremonies, All ticket-holders will be allowed one to and fro ride on the Metro and DTC buses for that specific day.

Internet sales gave the initial fillip to the sales that began in June. The first phase of the three-phase ticket sale process was exclusively through the Commonwealth Games ticketing website, while second phase enables people to access the retail outlets as well.

At the retail outlets, direct purchases can be made and those holding vouchers can also procure actual tickets there. The third phase will give people access to venue outlets as well.

TOI

Injury forces Rice out of Commonwealth Games

IRVINE: Australia's triple Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice will have shoulder surgery and miss the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in October, the emotional swimmer said on Thursday.

Rice, in California to compete in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, said she could no longer swim through the pain caused by inflammation in her right shoulder and would have surgery, probably within a fortnight.

"Obviously it's a big disappointment to me," said Rice, whose week at the PanPacs is also done. "I have to think about the bigger picture, and that's definitely London 2012."

The 22-year-old, who won Olympic gold in Beijing in the 200m and 400m individual medleys and in the 4x200m freestyle relay, was the highest profile member of the 48-strong squad named by Australia in March at the conclusion of their national championships.

But she has battled pain in her shoulder that has hindered her training.

When her shoulder came up sore after she posted a personal best in the 50m butterfly here on Wednesday, she and coach Michael Bohl agreed surgery couldn't be put off any longer.

"As disappointing as it is, I think it's the right decision," said Rice, who broke down in tears when talking to an Australian television crew but composed herself to continue discussing her plans.

"It's going to be really hard to watch the team go away and watch everyone race," Rice said.

She said the surgery would be a "clean-out" rather than reconstruction.

"They have told me rehab is 12 weeks, I guess four weeks out of the water if the surgery goes well," she said.

Despite the disappointment, Rice said it was a relief to have a plan in place, after months of coping with the injury on a day-by-day basis.

But Australian head coach Leigh Nugent admitted her loss was a big blow to the team, but indicated it would be worth it if Rice is at full strength for the 2012 Olympics in London.

"She's the spearhead of our women's team, if not the whole team," Nugent said. "We'll be taking a step backward to take a step forward in the future."

TOI

Pvt cos keen to sponsor CWG as PSUs pull out Read more: Pvt cos keen to sponsor CWG as PSUs pull out

MUMBAI/BANGALORE: Is the controversy surrounding the Commonwealth Games (CWG) scaring off sponsors? Though PSUs like NTPC and PowerGrid Corporation are threatening to pull out of the games, private sector companies so far seem to be the torchbearers for the event.

With the government on Thursday giving fresh assurances to control the damage, a section of corporates believes that the controversy could, actually, have a positive rub-off effect on the popularity of the games.

Venugopal Dhoot, chairman, Videocon Group, said, "The regular media coverage on the controversies surrounding the CWG has created public awareness on the games, which were hitherto not very popular. We have decided to spend on advertising for the commonwealth games." Videocon Group spends a couple of hundred crores on advertisements every year. The diversified consumer television manufacturer-to-mobile operator has been sponsoring various sports events such as cricket, tennis and boxing since 1991 when it first sponsored the Asia Cup Cricket.

Media buyers pointed out that even in the past, cricket, movie launches and other events have benefited from controversies. This was seen last year when the popularity of IPL went up after Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth. Similarly, India-Australia series in 2008 benefited from the verbal duel between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan. "As we near CWG and the confidence builds up, more advertisers will look at it as a great opportunity. In terms of ratings, I am sure that the controversy will aid in taking the viewership up," said Nandini Dias, COO, Lodestar, a media agency.

Clients like Hero Honda, Coca-Cola and Airtel have already tied up for CWG sponsorships. International rights and ground rights, too, have been tied up. As to whether the official beverage partner for CWG was still continuing with its sponsorship, a Coca-Cola spokesman said, "Our partnership with CWG is an extension of the company's focus on promoting healthy, active living for people and also to build social cohesiveness by using sports as a vehicle. We have been associated with several sporting events globally and in India. Our plans for CWG as its beverage partner is intact."

What Coca-Cola gains by associating with CWG is the opportunity to refresh more than 8,000 athletes and delegates, and more than 30,000 volunteers who will take part in the games. The global beverage maker believes that the New Delhi CWG will be a platform to promote sporting culture in the country and help catapult India into the league of prominent sporting nations. "The games are an important vehicle in helping us continue to connect consumers to our brands," said the Coca-Cola spokesperson.

That's not all. Companies are also seen going strong on celebrity endorsements, backing CWG sports participants. For instance, Saina Nehwal, the world No. 2 badminton player, has been approached by over 10 companies, including multinationals, for endorsement. Sports celebrity managers who TOI spoke to said that none of Saina's deals have been affected by the CWG controversy.

PSUs said to be still backing the event include the Air India Indian Railways, and Central Bank of India. Said an Air India spokesperson: "Since we are the official airline partner, there is no cash outflow. We will only be carrying the delegates and athletes to the event and their tickets are free."

An NTPC official told TOI: "After all hell broke loose, the company has become apprehensive because NTPC wants the money to be put to good use."

TOI

50 days to go: Can the CWG mess be cleared in time? Read more: 50 days to go: Can the CWG mess be cleared in time?

NEW DELHI: Five years after the plan to redevelop Connaught Place was finalised, the city's stylish central plaza looks like a war-ravaged zone. And just 50 days remain for the Commonwealth Games. Can this collosal mess be cleared in time?

That's today the Rs 450-crore question - the amount that is being spent, ostensibly for the city's beautification before the Games but which now threatens to become a huge embarrassment for the city, indeed, for India. Who is responsible for this? Not Suresh Kalmadi, in this instance, but NDMC and its parent ministry, the urban development ministry.

New stretches are being dug up in CP and old ones hurriedly filled up. Consider this: work on the three new subways that was begun has been stopped midway and the pits are being covered up only to be reopened after the event. There are pipes, cables and mounds of earth strewn all over, walkways are still being built, and the middle circle is a cavernous pit in many places.

The man who has the answers to questions like why NDMC sat on the plan for four years and started work on a project 19 months before the Games when by its own admission it should take 18-24 months - NDMC chairmanParimal Rai - appears to have gone under the radar. Despite repeated attempts by TOI throughout the day he would not respond to any of our queries.

Still, the questions demand an answer. When it took a full one year to complete the "model" C Block of CP, how did NDMC think it could fix all of CP in just 19 months? NDMC spokesman Anand Tiwari parroted stock excuses - how difficult it is to do work on a "live" street, how the subways could not be readied in time as there was a drainage junction that was discovered in the course of digging, etc.

Well, that it was a "live" street wasn't a state secret before the work was started, nor would a drainage problem have been a mystery if sewerage maps had been consulted. So, what was the tearing hurry to start the work and present the city and the nation with a humungous mess? Couldn't work wait till the Games were over?

This was Tiwari's brave answer: "We could not have waited till after the Games to start work because the two-year contract (with the contractor) is due to expire in June 2011. How could we keep all work for the last six months? And work had to be started because a lot of CP was crumbling. Would you want tourists to see a crumbling CP?"

But would we want them to see a ploughed-up CP? No chance, he assures. CP will be ready by August 31 "plus minus a few days here and there." TOI finds the claims very, very difficult to believe, although it would be the happiest if it were to be proved wrong.

As the skeleton strength of shoppers negotiate mounds of earth and balance themselves on makeshift "bridges" to get from one side to the other, it is indeed difficult to believe the assurances. Specially when of the 16 blocks where work is on, only seven have been completed so far. Only six parking lots outside of the blocks are ready and work on the middle circle road is on.

And what about the extra cost of the go-stop-go pace of work, like with the subways? "It's nominal compared to the scale of the work," Tiwari offers. But he did not give the cost escalation figure, choosing to give instead the total cost of the subway project - Rs 60 crore.

The money is big indeed. The sum allocated is Rs 450 crore, but the entire project cost is estimated to go up to a stunning Rs 860 crore, to be spent over a three-year period. Critics say that the whole project smacks of a contractor-government agency nexus, although there is no evidence yet to prove it.
Tiwari says: "Work began in 2009, as getting permission from government bodies took time. There will be a visible change in CP by August 31. Everything will be in place as far as public convenience is concerned."

Despite having initial plans of constructing eight subways, NDMC got permission to start work on only three of the subways. The three subways - two at Punchkuian Road and another at BKS Marg - have been covered with loose earth and a road will be made over it. The entry and exit points of the subway will be blocked only temporarily and work on the subways will resume after Games. In fact, the road along Punchkuian road will have to be dug up again as the work of creating retaining wall has not been completed.

Said Tiwari: "NDMC will take up subway work along the middle carriageway of the Outer Circle after Games with work having been completed at the two ends. However, digging will have to be carried out at Punchkuian Road again on the sides again." The openings made for installing escalators at the existing five subways too have been closed.

Says Tiwari: "Drainage barrels (junctions) are coming in the way of the escalator work. We will, however, try to install escalators in two subways. No decision yet on which they will be." Incidentally the sole purpose why existing subways were touched was installation of escalators. The subway near LIC building has been completely closed by NDMC.

Service lines will be placed in the duct in the middle circle only after the Games. Other components of the redevelopment plan which will be taken up only after the Games include the central cooling system, changing the flooring in the area and constructing concrete roads.

Said Tiwari: "There was some controversy over the flooring due to which we could not go ahead with the work. As far as re-laying of roads in concerned, we will upgrade them using bitumen and will later construct concrete roads." Sources say the bitumen is being used because the civic agency cannot afford to give concrete roads the time it requires to "settle" Moreover, the roads will have to be dug up again after the Games.

TOI

Somdev to lead Indian challenge in Commonwealth Games, Davis Cup

NEW DELHI: India No.1 Somdev Devvarman will lead the country's challenge in the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games men's tennis event and next month's Davis Cup World Group play-off tie against Brazil in Chennai.

Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna are other players selected Friday by the committee comprising Anil Dhupar (chairman), SP Misra, Rohit Rajpal and Balram Singh for both the events.

Yuki Bhambri, Vishnu Vardhan and VM Ranjeet have been nominated as reserve players for the Commonwealth Games.

Vishnu Vardhan, Ranjeet Virali Murugesan and Divij Sharan are the reserves for the Davis Cup tie. Misra will continue to be the non-playing captain of the team.

The selection of the women's team has been deferred by a week, till the conclusion of the ongoing coaching camp at Pune on the recommendations of the coaches for the Games' preparation -- Jaidip Mukerjea, Nandan Bal and Enrico Piperno.

"The trials are still going, the coaches are overseeing the players' performances. Once the camp gets over, they will be in a better position to recommend the names," Mukerjea said.

The selection committee also discussed the clash of the ATP World Tour doubles with the November Asian Games and has deferred the decision for nominating the team for the event.

Team:

Commonwealth Games (men's): Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna.

Reserves: Yuki Bhambri, Vishnu Vardhan and VM Ranjeet

Davis Cup: Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman, Rohan Bopanna.

Reserves: Vishnu Vardhan, Ranjeet Virali Murugesan and Divij Sharan

TOI

CWG scam: Kalmadi, Fennell under ED scanner

NEW DELHI: Top bosses of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and the Organizing Committee have come under the government's scanner with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sending notices to the Royal Bank of Scotland in London and to its Indian representative for providing all transaction details of payments made by the OC.

The ED investigation is now focused on trailing the ultimate beneficiaries of the payments made to four major CWG consultants - Event Knowledge Services, Fast Track Sales Ltd, Sports Marketing And Management (SMAM) and AM Films.

Preliminary findings of the probe carried out by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had revealed that undue favour had been shown to London-based Fast Track Sales Ltd "solely on the recommendation" of CGF president Mike Fennell and OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi.

ED officials, who questioned sacked Kalmadiaide T S Darbari a few days ago on the payments made to little-known London firm AM Films, may also call suspended OC finance committee head M Jeychandren for questioning in the next few days.

They are expected to seek details on payments made to all foreign consultants.

Sources said Kalmadi may not be called for questioning till October 13, the day the Games conclude. But efforts will be made to investigate all leads based on payments made so far to all foreign consultants by the OC.

Besides Darbari, ED has already questioned former OC deputy DG Sanjay Mohindroo for transactions related to AM Films.

The OC had approved the international broadcasting sales consultancy to Fast Track Sales Ltd "only on the basis of suggestions made by the president and CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and chairman of the OC," according to documentary evidence gathered by CAG officials during the initial inspection of CWG books.

The OC had signed agreements to the tune of Rs 208 crore ($46 million) with different agencies, including agreement in process amounting to over $3 million with British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for the broadcasting rights in UK. The commission to Fast Track on these broadcast rights was 15%.

The OC secretary general, Lalit Bhanot, has defended the award of the contract to Fast Track saying it was a well thought out decision as they did not want all works to go to SMAM.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Mike Hooper also defended the decision of the CGF president in recommending Fast Track saying that though the federation did make this suggestion, but it was ultimately for the OC to select consultants for the New Delhi CWG.

"Although the CGF supported the appointment of Fast Track, it strongly refutes any inference that it interfered in the selection process," Hooper said adding that having awarded the Games to Delhi, it is for the OC to decide who it wants to appoint for any outsourced role.

ED is probing linkages of SMAM with the Mauritius-based World Sports Group (WSG). The latter had received Rs 380 crore "facilitation fee" in the IPL-Gate and is still under scanner of multiple agencies in India. SMAM was also the agency that was hired by the Kalmadi-led OC for the Youth Games in Pune in 2008.

The other consultancy firm to whom payments have been made is the Swiss headquartered EKS that was hired by the CWG organisers to provide knowhow on the conduct of the Games.

TOO

Interim CAG report points fingers at Kalmadi-led CWG OC Read more: Interim CAG report points fingers at Kalmadi-led CWG OC

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its interim inspection report has found some discrepancies in choosing consultants for global broadcasting rights and sponsorship deal for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games here.

The report found that the games Organising Committee of which Suresh Kalmadi is the chairman had awarded the sponsorship deal to Melbourne-based Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM) at a very cheap price, official sources said on Wednesday night.

The sponsorship deal has since been scrapped on grounds of 'non-performance', a claim that has been refuted by the Australian firm, which said the charges against it are "imaginary".

UK's Fast Track Sales Ltd was chosen as the consultant for the broadcasting rights.

The inspection of the CWG Organising Committee was done by field officers between November 2009 and January 2010. The inspection report has been sent to the Committee for its comments and it was not immediately known if a response has been made.

It was pointed out that the report related to an inspection done by field officers and it was not an audit report. It was also said that the final report may differ from the findings of the inspection report.

The sources said there was also a mention of Maxxam International in the interim report which raised questions on the procedures adopted for the Queen's Baton Relay, held in London last year.

This deal for organising the event went to Maxxam which reportedly had emerged as the highest bidder.

TOI

15-day practice is enough for CWG, says Tejaswini

15-day practice is enough for CWG, says Tejaswini

NEW DELHI, Aug 9: Asserting that delay in completion of the CWG venues would not rob country’s athletes of home advantage, India’s first World Champion woman shooter Tejaswini Sawant on Monday said just 15-day vigorous practice is enough to prepare for the Commonwealth Games.

Sawant said lack of knowledge of the Munich venue, where she won gold on Sunday, hardly affected her chances.

“One month is enough to get trained for the Commonwealth Games. Even 10-15 days of rigorous training would be enough for us,” said Tejaswini, who was in the capital along with another shooter Gagan Narang to meet Sports Minister MS Gill.

“We will not lose the home advantage. It’s not that I had always practiced in Munich before clinching gold there. I was unaware of the conditions there. I straight went into the championship. What helped me there was my determination, clear aim and positive mindset.

“Same is here in India. You need all these three traits to win medals. You can’t pass on the buck by saying venues are incomplete. It makes a very small difference,” the rifle shooter said.

Some former athletes and administrators feel that India’s medal prospects will be hit badly as many of the venues have not been made available to athletes to get acclimatised.

Tejaswini though is confident that Indian shooters will do well at October 3-14 Games here.

“It’s very important to consider what conditions are you practicing. Practice, positive mindset, concentration are the most important assets of a player. We will produce our best in the Games,” she said.

Tejaswini shot a score of 597 (100, 100, 100, 99, 99, 99), equalling the 1998 record set by Marina Bobkova of Russia.

“I was not thinking about a medal or a world record. Having got both, it’s just amazing. It’s a dream come true. My coaches, including Kazakh coach Stanislav Lapidus, made some plans for me and I am glad that everything worked accordingly,” the shooter from Kolhapur said.

Tejaswini dedicated her victory to her late father. She recalled how at one point financial constrains forced her to consider giving up shooting, but the strong support of her family, especially her father, kept her going.

“I dedicate this medal to my father. I proved him right. I fulfilled his dreams,” she said.

Tejaswini’s father passed away on February 23 when she was competing at the Commonwealth Championships here. (PTI)

Commonwealth Games: Delhi to miss date again?

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's promise of completing all Commonwealth Games projects being implemented by her government by the extended deadline of August 31 is appearing to fall flat.

Top officials in Delhi government admitted that key projects like Barapullah Nallah elevated road and renovation of the Yamuna Sports Complex, apart from street-scraping around the Games venues are unlikely to finished by August-end.

Chief secretary Rakesh Mehta said although a carriageway of the Barapulla Nallah elevated road will be completed by August 25, the construction activities on second carriageway could be finished by first week of September only.

The four-km-long elevated road between Sarai Kale Khan and the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue of the event, is being built to provide uninterrupted traffic flow from Games Village near Akshardham temple to the stadium. The over Rs 550-crore project has already missed several deadlines.

Similarly, renovation of Yamuna Sports Complex, where archery and table tennis events will take place, is not likely to be completed by August-end. Peripheral works in and around Talkatora Stadium and Karni Singh Shooting Range are also not expected to be over by the deadline.

Finance minister AK Walia has publicly stated that work in Yamuna Sports Complex will not be over by the month-end.

Delhi government had undertaken projects worth over Rs 10,000 crore to improve infrastructure in the city ahead of the Games that start on October 3.

Works related to plantation and greenery are also lagging far behind. Although plantation works have been allowed to run through September, several agencies planning to put up potted plants are a bit confused as police have objected to placing the pots near the gates of the venues.

Facing severe criticism for delay in finishing Games-related projects, Dikshit had last month directed all agencies concerned to complete pending work within the final deadline.

Top PWD officials, overseeing street-scraping projects across the city, have also admitted that the works will only be over by mid-September. The department has deployed an additional workforce of 700 labours to wrap up the street-scraping projects.

"Nine agencies are working on various projects to improve various infrastructures in the city. Some of the projects are getting delayed because of lack of coordination among the agencies," said chief secretary Mehta.

Questions are also being raised over whether the 2,000 flats being renovated by the DDA in Vasant Kunj for stay of technical staff of the Games will be completed ahead of the mega sporting event. DDA engineers, earlier in the week, had said that they will not be able to complete the flats before the Games.

TOI

Under-pressure, Kalmadi says ready for CAG or judicial probe

Under-pressure, Kalmadi says ready for CAG or judicial probe

NEW DELHI, Aug 4: Cornered by allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games’ preparations and isolated within his own party, under-fire Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Wednesday said he is ready to face any CAG or judicial probe into the financial transactions related to the event.

“I, as chairman of the Organising Committee, am prepared to face any scrutiny by (Comptroller and Auditor General) CAG or even a judicial probe for all financial transactions being reported by the media. All the people found guilty will be punished and brought to book,” Kalmadi said in a statement.

Kalmadi’s statement came a day after more allegations of irregularities and the Indian High Commission’s e-mails being ‘doctored’ came to light. The Congress party also distanced itself from Pune MP.

Delhi Games in crisis as clock runs down

NEW DELHI: The Commonwealth Games in New Delhi have been plunged into crisis just two months before the opening ceremony by allegations of corruption, shoddy workmanship and delays in handing over venues.

Monday should have witnessed the final handover -- already twice delayed -- of the venues to the event directors, but four are still under construction and others are the focus of a row over sub-standard work.

The Games, which India had hoped would be a showcase for its emergence as a global economic power, are scheduled to begin on October 3.

The charges of rampant corruption and concerns over the ballooning cost have drowned out increasingly desperate-sounding assurances from top Indian officials, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that preparations are on track.

An Indian anti-corruption body last week reported it had found a host of problems with construction work, including use of poor quality materials and dubious contracts.

The chief technical examiner from the Central Vigilance Commission inspected 15 sites around the national capital and found a number of irregularities and suspect practices by contractors and public bodies.

The Times of India said all construction quality certificates inspected so far had turned out to be fake or "suspect."

Indian media also reported that the British government had raised questions about suspect sums being transferred from the organising committee to a British-based firm.

The reports prompted the chairman of the Games organising committee, Suresh Kalmadi, to address a hurried press conference where he slammed the media for conducting a "prejudiced campaign".

"I wish to state that we have nothing to hide and I stand before you with clear conscience and complete conviction," Kalmadi said.

"We believe in total transparency. The campaign is very demoralising for athletes and officials who have been working day and night for many years now to make the Games a success.

"The need of the hour is to get on with the Games and be united to make this happen. Let not corruption be the only highlight. There are many positive things to write and talk about."

Media coverage has become increasingly negative as the games approach.

The India Today news magazine dubbed the event the "Shame Games" while a recent editorial in The Times of India said it was "in danger of becoming an exhibition of ineptitude and incompetence."

The event involving 71 nations is already the costliest Commonwealth Games in history, with an infrastructure and organising budget of two billion dollars. Unofficial estimates say the cost will be at least three times that amount.

The desperate race to get everything finished in time has been hampered by heavy monsoon rains that have turned worksites across the city into mudbaths and even flooded some of the main venues.

Games Federation chief executive Mike Hooper said Monday he was concerned about the Central Vigilance Commission's report and made it clear that the organisers would refuse to take over suspect venues.

"We will not accept the handover of any venue if appropriate documents are not there attesting that the venues are fit for the purpose," Hooper said.

Opposition parties have seized on the corruption allegations to condemn the government's handling of preparations for the Games.

Police had to use water cannon on Monday to disperse opposition activists who marched to parliament with banners bearing slogans including: "Is it Commonwealth Games or the Loot of the Common Man?"

Other Commonwealth nations have expressed concerns about the situation, although Perry Crosswhite, the chief executive of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association, said he suspected political motives at play.

"It looks like the parties and the government there are having a go at each other and no doubt everybody has got their little axe to grind," Crosswhite said on Monday.

"These things tend to happen before these types of events -- the blame game happens.

TOI

Govt assures action in CWG ‘corruption’

Govt assures action in CWG ‘corruption’

NEW DELHI, Aug 1: Hit by allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games, the government today promised to take action against those found guilty even as another venue was inaugurated with a leaking roof. Union urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy was in damage-control mode over the Central Vigilance Commission's report on widescale corruption in Games' construction projects. “CVC has come out with preliminary remarks on the alleged irregularities in the construction of Commonwealth venues. I assure you that all concerned would be punished. Nothing would be spared. We will seriously look into it,” Reddy said during the inauguration of the Weightlifting auditorium inside the Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium complex here today. The Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, who was forced to address an hour-long press conference to rebutt charges of financial bunglings yesterday, was issuing clarifications yet again. The Indian Olympic Association chief insisted that the UK-based firm at the center of a corruption row that has hit OC was recommended by the Indian High Commission despite an embarrassing denial issued by it earlier.The Indian High Commission had denied recommending A M Films, the little-known UK-based firm which allegedly received lakhs of pounds for providing its ‘services’ during the Queen's Baton Relay in London. (PTI)