Tuesday, Jul 23, 2002
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Sports : General
By Kamesh Srinivasan
With a few more days to go for the opening ceremony of the 17th Commonwealth Games, the `matter of fact' lifestyle was understandable, as one walked to the Albert Square at the city centre. Being an early bird has its own advantages as one gets a personal attention and a lot of warmth from the accreditation staff. After the earlier confusion, it is good to find that the staff has not only traced the application, after denying it for a few weeks, but also the accompanying photos. It is indeed a welcome relief following a long drive from the North East of the land, on the highest motorable road in England. It is another matter that it was memorable too. The elevated stretch, at 372 metres above sea level, gives a brilliant view of the countryside, the hills and the clouds hanging on to them. A far cry from the magnificent wood and concrete structure of the city, which seems to be a sea of buildings. But then, each has its own beauty to offer. The huge flags on the roads give an idea of the sporting extravaganza. But there is no sign of the games' mascot, Kit. The creature is not a cat, or a lion, but is supposed to be a fusion of felines. ``His role has been to gather the enthusiasm, entertain and captivate the hearts of children, athletes and adults ... a true Games ambassador,'' says the official leaflet. Naturally, the media centre is well equipped with a giant screen to beam the action, apart from a good network of telecommunication systems. Of course, it was golf on air, and it would be interesting to see how the 20 monitors, 10 each on the two sides of the large screen, would help in the enhanced coverage of the games, as the picture was the same in all, a la television shop. With more than 4000 athletes expected to compete form 72 countries, fighting for 524 gold medals in 17 disciplines, it has indeed been a gigantic task for the host to put the facilities in place. The work force includes about 10,000 volunteers. There will be 88 medallists from the Sydney Olympics Games, trying to further build their reputation here. Karnam Malleswari, the only medallist of India in Sydney, will not be here. She has been devoting time to her family in recent months, adding considerable weight to her structure after the Olympic high. Sport England has funded these Games to the tune of £165 million. That dwarfs the sum of £3.5 million spent on building the English athletes to perform at their peak during the meet. It is firmly believed that it was Sport England's funding that helped the British team to a great extent in winning 28 medals in Sydney, including 11 gold medals, its best ever performance in the Olympic Games. England had won 136 medals including 36 gold in the last edition of the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. It would indeed be tough to stretch the home advantage to match Australia, in garnering the medals. Australia had won 80 gold, 61 silver and 58 bronzes the last time. But that is a challenge, sportingly accepted by the 450-strong English contingent.
A challenge for India
India would have its own challenge of staying up with the top teams. It had won seven gold, 10 silver and eight bronze the last time in 1998, finishing eighth among the 34 countries that managed to win a medal. The team will be keen to improve upon that record, though it may not eventually be able to match the demands of the government. The Commonwealth platform has indeed been a happy hunting ground for India. It has won 50 gold, 57 silver and 46 bronzes in these Games. There is a nice booklet cataloguing the British athletes, to make life easy for the media personnel expected to be around 4500 in number, ensuring the best coverage in the process. Back home, we are not even able to get the photos of our medallists when they are felicitated with government awards. Maybe, we do not have any clue as to how to take care of our athletes, the elite ones especially. We trample on their confidence, making them run around in circles, and there is no question of motivating them to achieve greater laurels. Sparing money grudgingly is not exactly the only method to boost sporting excellence. To provide a classic example, boxer Dalbir Singh has arrived here on a government ticket, despite not being cleared by the government! ``He is here and we are trying to sort the case with the organisers. It will be done, there is no problem'', said the chef de mission of the Indian contingent, Mr. Mool Chand Chowhan. Indian enterprise is perhaps good enough to ensure an entry into the competition. Winning medals, in the numbers we like, need a foolproof planning, and years of precise execution.
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