Commonwealth Games 2010: All eyes on the athletes to perform
The Commonwealth Games is turning out to be more than just a sports tournament. Delegates from more than 71 participating nations have come together in New Delhi. The Games in general and the Games Village in particular has turned into a centre of cultural
exchange. The overall enthusiasm of the delegates, athletes and the hosts has lessened the degree of criticism and allegations that the Organizing Committee and the venues were subjected to.
At the Residential Zone of the Games Village, the strongest woman of England, weightlifter Zoe Smith was seen socializing with delegates and athletes from other countries and cultures. The opening ceremony that will be taking place on Sunday at the Jawaharlal
Nehru Stadium will be a sight for fans and spectators around the world over. The 357 members from Team England will be led by their badminton player, Nathan Robertson who has assured the crowd of an amazing showcase of British culture that will leave the host
spectators including the Prime Minister of India breathless.
Since the preparation process of the Games was a chaos, the Organizing Committee was compelled to launch a probe into the workings of the labour deployed at the construction site of the Games Village. As a result of one investigation, it was found on Friday
that the people involved in the construction of the Games Village had added an extra 30 flats (not part of the architect’s plan) to increase the margin of the future profit when the Village will be auctioned after the Games. However, the opening ceremony of
the mega event is expected to deviate the attention of the international community and media from issues confronting the Organizing Committee and the Village. Only a couple of sports analysts believe that the accusations on the host nation are merely an attempt
to downgrade the reputation of the country, nevertheless, all the experts and critics agree that the split times, personal bests, records, titles and medals will overshadow all the fears that reside in the athletes and visitor’s minds.
No country hosting the Commonwealth Games has ever been criticised to this extent as India has been. Call it bad luck or call it incompetence of the Organizing Committee, either way the country has consistently been in the headlines for not living up to
the expectations of the Commonwealth Games Federation. A couple of high profile athletes pulled out of the Games over security and health concerns. The world champions and Olympians that withdrew from the Games include Usain Bolt, Mark Cavendish, Caster Semenya
and Asafa Powell to name a few.
So far, the tickets sales statistics are extremely low. The chairman of the Organizing Committee, Suresh Kalmadi is still hopeful that Games will end on a successful note. Being the last mega event before the London Olympics, India was expecting to gain
some economic benefits by hosting the Games, but the situation does not seem very promising. Not a lot of visitors from abroad have shown up so far. The justification is simple - people are apprehending militant attacks along with poor health conditions in
the city with high chances of dengue and influenza H1N1 breaking out.
The dates of the Commonwealth Games are circled by all the athletes every four years, because their part in the Olympics is determined by their performances at these Games. The question whether the Games will be a success or a failure will eventually be
answered by the athletes. If the athletes are able to create a wave of excitement amongst the spectators and if their performances are historic, then the Delhi Games will become a legend in the history of Commonwealth Games. However, if unfortunately, the
Games continue to attract issues and problems once the Games start, then the event will become an epic failure and will haunt the Commonwealth Games Federation forever.
With less than 24 hours remaining in the opening ceremony, the Organizing Committee and the government of India needs nothing but good luck.
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