Sport - Sports : General

‘No threat to C’wealth Games, cricket WC’

NEW DELHI: India will host the 2010 Commonwealth Games and cricket’s World Cup in 2011 as scheduled despite security concerns after the Mumbai terror attacks, top officials said on Tuesday.

Indian Olympic Association secretary-general Randhir Singh said there was no threat to the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi from October 3-14, 2010.

“What happened in Mumbai is tragic, but sport must go on and we are determined to host the Games,” Singh, a member of the International Olympic Committee said.

“There will be high security for the Games as is common at most international sporting events. There is no cause to worry.

“The Olympic torch relay in New Delhi earlier this year went off without a problem despite demonstrations because the security was very tight.”

The 2010 event is only the second time the four-yearly Games have been awarded to an Asian city, the first being the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

The cricket World Cup in 2011, to be jointly hosted by the four South Asian Test nations, was thrown in doubt after diplomatic tensions escalated between India and Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks which left 188 dead.

But India’s Sharad Pawar, a federal minister who takes over as president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2010, dismissed speculation the tournament was under threat. “There is still some time for that and I am confident our government will take corrective actions,” Pawar told the CNN-IBN news channel. “In the near future, you will see a totally different situation where all precautionary measures are taken and nobody will dare to show this kind of courage here.”

Meanwhile, Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi quashed the rumours saying the apprehension was baseless.

International media reported that security fears were clouding the Delhi Games — raising the prospect of a switch.

“Security is a major issue. What is disturbing is that this (trend) has been continuing for the last nine months. In that backdrop, we continue to assess the situation, although we have not taken a definitive position,” Commonwealth Games Federation (CWGF) Chief Executive Mike Hooper was quoted as saying in the media.

“We have our own security consultants who would continue to monitor the situation in the country,” he said and added that “One can only speculate. It’s still too premature to comment on that (transferring the Games).”

When contacted, CWG organising Committee Chairman Kalmadi said that there was no chance of the Games being relocated. “The Games will be held in Delhi in 2010 in October. All the infrastructure is being readied for the event which is still around two years away,” Kalmadi said. — Agencies

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