Commonwealth Games: Team Scotland revs up for the event
The Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games New Delhi have told the 7000 athletes from the 71 participating nations to stay at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the whole event. The opening ceremony will be three hour long and will consist of six stages. The chef de Mission of Team Scotland, Jon Doig says that he wants the athletes to rest before the competitions that will be starting from Monday. He also ruled out any allegations that were put on the Team Scotland regarding its presence at the opening ceremony. He went on to say that he just wanted some clarifications from the organizers and the word “boycott” was never used.
Team Scotland wants to be there at the opening ceremony but does not want to stay throughout the whole event since the competitions start from Monday and the athletes look forward for some rest before they enter the field.
Jon Doig has approached other unhappy heads of the teams who have their concerns about the involvement of the athletes in the opening ceremony. Jon has repeatedly being using the word “clarification” whenever he was questioned whether Team Scotland will be present at the opening ceremony or not.
He went on to say that he wants to discuss some timing issues with the Organizing Committee, since the athletes will have to come back to the Village and then prepare for the tournaments that are scheduled for the following morning. The chef de Mission is demanding a table of timings which should include the times of the arrival and departure of the guests and delegates. The Organizing Committee will provide the confirmed schedule to Jon on Saturday afternoon, according to sources.
The Scottish flag will be carried by the cyclist of the team, Ross Edgar. Ross won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics and was selected by the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Scotland, Michael Cavanagh. The 27-year-cyclist is a world champion and is the winner of silver and bronze medals in the last two World Championships.
Meanwhile, the Indian athletes are all set to take over the fields once the games start. India landed on the fourth spot in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006. Australia, the host nation, was the first followed by England and Canada in the second and third positions respectively. This time in Delhi, the largest contingent is that of India. Team India is based on 619 members. The Chef de Mission of Team India, Bhubaneswar said that he is not expecting the team to settle below the third position this time. At the Melbourne Games, the Indian delegation returned home with 49 medals out of which 22 were gold. As for the Manchester Games in 2002, India and Canada fought fiercely for the third spot. Canada finally made it to the third place by winning a total of 31 gold medals, while India could only manage 30. One of the most significant contenders who will be providing Team India with a gold medal is India’s only Olympic gold winner Abhinav Bindra.
It is essential for the Indian athletes to be good hosts besides just being tough competitors to the delegates of the 71 participating nations to rebuild the repute of the country. After the Games Village being called filthy and unliveable by many countries, the country has been disgraced to the limit. Now if the Indian athletes perform well at the Games, the marred reputation of the host nation can be uplifted.
This is the first mega event that India will be hosting after the 1982 Asian Games. The eyes of domestic and international media have been on the preparation process of the Commonwealth Games for more than a month now. India could not own up to the promises made to the international community about the standards of the venues and more specifically the Games Village. The opening ceremony is expected to win over the hearts of all the delegates.
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