Commonwealth Games: Pakistan captain Zeeshan Ashraf to go through fitness test
The Commonwealth Games in New Delhi have made it to the headlines for all the wrong reasons. From missing construction deadlines to poor management to security and hygiene problems – almost everything has gone wrong.
Team Canada’s two archers pulled out of the Games while Scotland and New Zealand have delayed their departure, asking the Organizing Committee to address their problems at the Games Village. Besides this, the bridge that collapsed near the Jawaharlal Nehru
Stadium, which is the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, has caught the attention of the delegates and visitors alike. The quality of the infrastructure has also been questioned by the participating nations. Amidst all these issues
that the Games have been confronted with, intense corruption allegations further degraded the worth of this prestigious event.
Like all the other squads, Team Pakistan is ready to fly to New Delhi to represent their country in a few days time. The captain of the Pakistan hockey team, Zeeshan Ashraf has been asked to pass a fitness test before he leaves for the Games. Team mate Kashif
Javed will also undergo a fitness test along with the captain.
The General Secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, Asif Bajwa said that the team will get together in Lahore before leaving for their destination. The reason why the captain’s fitness has been questioned is his injury that he had to suffer while he
was playing against Belgium. As a result of this injury, he had to abandon the tournament. The tests are scheduled to take place on the 27th of September. Apart from these two players, who are on standby and only be confirmed as part of the team
after getting the clearances, the rest of the squad is all set to assemble in Lahore on the 26th of September.
The officials of the Pakistan Hockey Federation have confirmed the participation of the team in the Commonwealth Games despite all the news that is being aired on international news channels. With less than a fortnight left for the Games to start, the problems
have become so grave that some experts believe that the Games will be cancelled or at least postponed. There is massive international pressure on the Organizing Committee.
The Organizing Committee has shown progress which is why some teams who had previously delayed their departure have decided to arrive. Delegates from England will be staying at local hotels in New Delhi and will not move to the Athletes Village before conditions
in their block are improved. Delegates from other participating teams including Canada will also be departing for India soon.
The management in India has been very sensitive as far as the security of the delegates is concerned. All the preparations of the security arrangements have been scrutinized by PM Manmohan Singh himself.
The Commonwealth Games are taking place in a developing nation for the first time in history. The Government of India took up the responsibility to host such an event so that India could display its economic and social power in the region. So far, the administration
and the government has just gone through a huge deal of economic and social setbacks as the venues took more than $2 billion. International media has aired pictures of the Games Village describing it as 'unfit for human inhabitation'. To add fuel to the fire,
the epidemic of the H1N1 virus and dengue fever have also been at its worse in the country.
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