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Delhi Kills Developing Nation Bids


Sir Rols

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Well, it looks like some CGF members - and Dick Pound - are now going public on just what sort of legacy Delhi is going to give to future bids from developing countries.

Games debacle deals blow to future bids from developing nations

NEW DELHI—As rain continued to pour on Commonwealth Games sites, organizers faced an even greater deluge of criticism over their unfinished work.

Team officials and local critics were withering in their condemnation of the organizing commitee, several nations postponed the arrival of their athletes, and a trickle of competitors cancelled plans to attend.

The last-minute crisis also set off a debate about the wisdom of awarding major sporting events to developing nations.

Alan Cross, secretary of the Jersey Commonwealth Games Association said publicly what some of his higher-profile colleagues are musing in private.

“We are very, very unhappy and disappointed,” Cross told the Times of India newspaper. “In the future, members will be very reluctant to vote for cities from developing countries again which is a real shame.”

The 2014 Commonwealth Games are scheduled in Glasgow, which beat out Abuja, Nigeria, for the right to host the competition. Voting for the 2018 Games takes place in November 2011. Australia’s Gold Coast and Hambantota, Sri Lanka, have entered bids.

Cross’s comments come as the two Canadian archers withdrew from the competition on Wednesday and as a growing number of nations considered withdrawing entire teams from the Games, which are held every four years for former members of the British empire.

“How much more can the nation be shamed by a bunch of bungling sports officials, ministers and government agencies?” asked The Hindu newspaper in an editorial Wednesday. “The Games were supposed to showcase India’s organizational ability to go with its rising stature on the global stage — as the spectacularly organized Beijing Olympics did for China . . . But the script has gone tragi-comically sour.”

Canadian Dick Pound, a longtime member of the International Olympic Committee, told the Star that if major countries decide not to send athletes to New Delhi, it could have a measurable impact on efforts by developing countries to host the Commonwealth Games for the next 20 years.

“But if they pull it off at the last minute like Athens did (in 2004 hosting the Summer Olympics) then the attitude may be, ‘it was more costly and corrupt than it should have been but at least they got it done,’ ” Pound said.

Pound said it’s important for organizers to move Games around and pointed out that before this year, the Commonwealth Games had only been held once in a developing nation — in Jamaica in 1966.

“You can’t keep going in a circuit of developed white countries,” he said from Montreal. “At some point you have to take the plunge.”

Officials with the Scottish team said Wednesday that they told their 192 athletes to stay at home until concerns about living conditions at the athletes village were addressed. David Harry, chef de mission for 43 athletes from Guernsey, one of the Channel islands off the coast of Normandy, France, said he had sympathy for New Delhi Games organizers because of this year’s prolonged monsoon.

“But then again they should not have left themselves in this position,” Harry said.

Canadian organizers seem to be taking a last-second wait-and-see attitude.

The first contingent of the 255 Canadian athletes was scheduled to leave Canada on Thursday. But officials with Commonwealth Games Canada, the federation that oversees Canada’s team, instructed all Canadian athletes on Wednesday to postpone plans to travel to India.

“The bottom line is that the accommodations in the athletes village simply aren’t ready,” said Scott Stevenson, Commonwealth Games Canada’s director of sport. “We’re working extremely hard with local authorities to get the finishing work and the clean-up done, but it’s going to take more time.”

Less than two weeks before the Oct. 3 opening ceremonies, the athletes’ village remains a mess of construction dust, flooded rooms and wonky electrical wiring.

Archers Kevin Tataryn and Dietmar Trillus, who both compete in the compound bow event, are the first Canadian athletes to pull out of the Games. Trillus is a two-time world champion.

Officials in India continued on Wednesday to say Western countries are overreacting.

“We are absolutely prepared,” India’s cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar told cable news channel CNN-IBN.

After a false ceiling collapsed in the weightlifting venue Wednesday, Chandrasekhar said the accident was a “minor thing . . . it’s not a matter to be worried about.”

Sheila Dikshit, Delhi’s chief minister, conceded there have been “minor hitches and glitches” but insisted the Games would proceed.

“Please be positive,” she told reporters.

Dikshit also dismissed concerns that athletes, tourists and foreign dignitaries might be targets for violence during the Games.

“The Games security is faultless and a security breach is impossible,” she said.

TheStar.com

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Awww come on! I think everyone agrees with me that Delhi 2010 is going to be a fail of epic proportions, but you can't go now and throw all the guilt to other developing countries. A several developing countries in the past have put a very good continental/olympic/regional games in the past...although, sadly, this is an exception, and i think that rather than not voting for developing nations bids, the organizations like the IOC, CWGF, OCA and PASO, etc, etc, should increase the pressure over them to make sure they get the job done in good conditions (on this last part, i have to blame the Commonwealth Games Federation for not taking the issues years ago, when it was obvious that we were going to see a disaster)

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I think you have to be realistic though Ikarus. A decade ago such events turning up in southern Asia and Africa seemed inevitable, but the facts are as time goes on the gap between what these events need and what such countries can offer - particularly in terms of security - seems to be increasing, not narrowing, and the international federations have to put the future of their events first, not the dreams of a developing nation.

As things stand now only South Africa seems a realistic prospect for an African games (whether Commonwealth or Olympic), whilst in Asia as far as the Commonwealths are concerned I think we're looking at the likes of Singapore and Malaysia (again), rather than the poorer countries of the sub-continent.

Lessons though will of course be learnt, but it's too fit for Delhi. IMO their facilities should have been fit for purpose on September 1st at the absolute latest - and ideally much earlier in the summer. The CWG Federation runs these games every 4 years so should have a pretty damn good idea of where a host city should be 3 months, 6 months, 1 year out from the games themselves. It seems warning bells were rung, but the CWG Fed just chose to ignore them.

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Of course there is an impact but Beijing and South Africa have passed their tests with flying colours.

The chaos in Delhi, whether we like it or not, places the developing world at a higher risk premium, which means voters thinking twice about a developing bid, AND fewer first votes for bids that may seem risky.

UEFA unsurprisingly voted for France partially because of Polkraines issues.

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:mellow: I believe oneupmanship is partially to blame as well. The CWGs are suppose to be a different beast from the Olympics yet now they are almost the same size and cost (on comparison).

For a next new host nation that the CGF can feel safe with, well there's only South Africa. And thats still 12 years away earliest. Like many here, I do wonder about the so called 'white' nations circuit, but then as India has now proven, they are the safest pair of hands.

...And of those nations, Canada isn't really interested anymore, New Zealand can't get up the mettle to bother, leaving the UK and Australia the only two that will end up hosting a north - south cycle.

Interesting to see a suggestion that Christchurch should treat it self to a 2022 bid attempt as a project after the massive rebuild...

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  • 1 year later...

The old Delhi forum, and all the threads - are closed now, so had to post here. Anyway, this is quite a sad, and damning, verdict on Delhi from India:

Commonwealth Games a nightmare: Quraishi

NEW DELHI: Terming the 2010 Commonwealth Games a "nightmare", Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi on Saturday said the event is being remembered more for its controversies, which denied the nation the pride it got from the performance of its athletes.

"What a nightmare it was, something we should have been proud of, that pride was denied to the nation... Unfortunately we did not get any time to bask in the glory of its success. Few days after the games, raids and inquiries were ordered," he said after releasing a book on preparation for the mega event.

Authored by former Deputy Director General of Organising Committee (OC) H P Singh Rishi, "Sports Scare - The Ghost that Haunted CWG Delhi" narrates his 15-month stint with the organisation.

Applauding the performance of Indian athletes who won 101 medals in various sporting events, he said, "Fortunately our sportspersons brought the glory. The bitterness was, I would not say was entirely erased from our memory, but it was compensated by the excellent performance by sportsmen."

Quraishi was the secretary in the Union sports ministry for a brief period during 2005-06.

"I was the sports secretary in 2005-06, fortunately for few months only, the organisers would come and tell me how it is going to be a profitable venture. I had told them if it is a profitable venture why are you breaking your heads with bureaucrats and why don't you go to a bank," he said.

Over delay in completion of various CWG projects, he said, "The alarm bells were already ringing, proposals were signed in 2003 and even in 2006 the things were very very slow."

Quraishi also expressed his doubt over involvement of people with vested interested who knowingly delayed the projects.

Times of India

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  • 2 months later...

Interesting, though, that the writer seems to applaud India's indifference.

I love how he thinks sending a probe to Mars is somehow more worthwhile than competing at sports! After all, neither can be of much interest to those many citizens of India struggling with poverty and starvation. ^_^

Or is it only worthwhile because India did it? I wonder if the Olympics would have been worthwhile if India had been able to do that as well? B)

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I love how he thinks sending a probe to Mars is somehow more worthwhile than competing at sports! After all, neither can be of much interest to those many citizens of India struggling with poverty and starvation. ^_^

Or is it only worthwhile because India did it? I wonder if the Olympics would have been worthwhile if India had been able to do that as well? B)

There does not appear to be any Indian-related bias. More a general disregard for sport and what it offers society. Going as far as questioning the use of sport to develop individuals is interesting. Especially since it is one of the oldest philosophical basis of life, a sound mind, in a sound body. And the generally substantial body of research that shows that participation in sport is a highly effective socializing tool, leadership builder etc.

One could also argue that India's passion for cricket is just as corrupting and corporate as the EPL and the NFL.

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I love how he thinks sending a probe to Mars is somehow more worthwhile than competing at sports! After all, neither can be of much interest to those many citizens of India struggling with poverty and starvation. ^_^

Or is it only worthwhile because India did it? I wonder if the Olympics would have been worthwhile if India had been able to do that as well? B)

I disagree with you there. There are MANY secondary benefits to a space program -- ranging from scientific advancements computers and engineering to dentistry and a host of other areas. The value isn't in Mars -- it's in the technology and knowledge that's developed in the process. Those advancements will help India grow, provide for her people and compete on the world stage -- far more than a sports program would.

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I disagree with you there. There are MANY secondary benefits to a space program -- ranging from scientific advancements computers and engineering to dentistry and a host of other areas. The value isn't in Mars -- it's in the technology and knowledge that's developed in the process. Those advancements will help India grow, provide for her people and compete on the world stage -- far more than a sports program would.

You misundersood my post, Athensfan. I'm a great supporter of the space programme. I was just questioning the hypocrisy of this writer who was praising Indians for their apparent indifference to the Olympics and criticising Nigerians who were beating themselves up because they didn't win any medals. After all, he said, surely Nigeria has much more important things on its plate to worry about. Well, for that matter, so has India. Why will sending a probe to Mars be any more relevant to solving the problems of the many hungry and poverty-stricken Indians than competing for Olympic medals?

I may be wrong but I suspect this writer is one of the many ex-pat Brits writing and working abroad who love nothing better than to take potshots at the home country as with this guy's sneering references to the UK's success at staging the Olympics and being so successful at winning medals. Contrast noble India etc. etc.

IMO hypocritical twaddle!

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  • 1 month later...

Wasn't sure where else to post this - the original Delhi forums are now locked. Anyway, is this, finally, the end of the line for Kalmadi now the nIOC is black-balling him?

Game's up Mr Kalmadi: World Olympic chief says disgraced Commonwealth Games boss and friends not eligible to contest Indian Olympic Association polls

Suresh Kalmadi's long reign in the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is finally coming to an end.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled that it's not possible for Kalmadi to hold any position in the national body as he has been implicated in various corruption scandals.

The IOC expressed its view following a letter from IOA vice president Jagdish Tytler, who sought the world body's position with regard to the association's upcoming election.

The IOA election is scheduled on November 25 and present president Kalmadi has expressed his desire to contest again.

This despite him being ineligible according to the sports ministry's age and tenure guidelines, as well as his implication in various financial irregularities related to the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Kalmadi's yearning to continue as the IOA president, a position he has been holding for the last 16 years, may not have gone down well with Congress leader Tytler, who, by taking the initiative and writing to the IOC president, seems to be looking for a larger role in the national Olympic association.

And now it seems Kalmadi's various alleged misdemeanours have finally caught up with him with the IOC putting its foot down and stating in no uncertain terms that it will not like to see him involved in IOA's affairs any more.

The world body, in reply to Tytler's letter, spelt out that Kalmadi, vice president V.K. Verma and joint secretary Lalit Bhanot should be suspended from all functions within the IOA.

As a result, the candidature of these three men for any position within the association becomes untenable. Tytler had written to IOC president Jacques Rogge, seeking the world body's opinion about the upcoming election.

The reply from Christophe de Kepper, IOC director general, referred to the stand taken by its Ethics Commission.

'Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot were all tried by a criminal court pursuant to the law on corruption linked to a sports event.

'The court even sentenced them to preventive detention for several months. For his part, Mr Kalmadi was released, but banned from leaving the national territory unless agreed by the court.

'In view of these circumstances, the situation of Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot is likely to lead to the application of point B.5 of the Code of Ethics,' the memorandum of the Ethics Commission said.

Point 3.5 in the Code states that: 'The Olympic parties shall use due care and diligence in fulfilling their mission. They must not act in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement.'

The memorandum adds that though one should be presumed innocent till proven guilty, keeping the three IOA office-bearers away from any new set-up was required to maintain the integrity of the Olympic movement.

'Although, owing to the application of the presumption of innocence, the Ethics Commission cannot take any final decision on the situation of Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot, it must however recommend a provisional measure to protect the reputation of the Olympic Movement regarding all three men, meaning their suspension from all functions within the Olympic Movement and in particular, the IOA until the final decision by the competent court in India,' it said.

The world body, in reply to Tytler's letter, spelt out that Kalmadi, vice president V.K. Verma and joint secretary Lalit Bhanot should be suspended from all functions within the IOA.

As a result, the candidature of these three men for any position within the association becomes untenable. Tytler had written to IOC president Jacques Rogge, seeking the world body's opinion about the upcoming election.

The reply from Christophe de Kepper, IOC director general, referred to the stand taken by its Ethics Commission.

'Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot were all tried by a criminal court pursuant to the law on corruption linked to a sports event.

'The court even sentenced them to preventive detention for several months. For his part, Mr Kalmadi was released, but banned from leaving the national territory unless agreed by the court.

'In view of these circumstances, the situation of Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot is likely to lead to the application of point B.5 of the Code of Ethics,' the memorandum of the Ethics Commission said.

Point 3.5 in the Code states that: 'The Olympic parties shall use due care and diligence in fulfilling their mission. They must not act in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement.'

The memorandum adds that though one should be presumed innocent till proven guilty, keeping the three IOA office-bearers away from any new set-up was required to maintain the integrity of the Olympic movement.

'Although, owing to the application of the presumption of innocence, the Ethics Commission cannot take any final decision on the situation of Messrs Kalmadi, Verma and Bhanot, it must however recommend a provisional measure to protect the reputation of the Olympic Movement regarding all three men, meaning their suspension from all functions within the Olympic Movement and in particular, the IOA until the final decision by the competent court in India,' it said.

The commission alleged that the IOA did not make its stand clear on the status of these three persons despite being asked to do so on several occasions.

'At no time, and in spite of numerous reminders and requests from the IOC, did the NOC clearly make any statement regarding the situation of these three officials nor take any provisional measure concerning them,' it said.

The Ethics Commission's directive comes a fortnight after the IOC said it wants to send observers to the IOA election.

After making much noise that it amounts to interference in its internal affairs, the IOA said it did not want to pick up a fight with its parent body.

The IOC's insistence in sending observers to the polls implies that the national body will not get its way this time. The IOA has, on several occasions, employed delaying tactics and tried to deflect attention from the matter at hand.

There have been instances in the past when national Olympic committees have been suspended because of political interference. The case of Kuwait is a recent example.

The IOC is also very sensitive to corruption matters and any controversy on that count is not taken lightly.

Tytler has forwarded the Ethics Commissions's memorandum to acting IOA president VK Malhotra. It is ironical to note that Kalmadi, who is a Congress MP, does not seem to have much support within his own party.

If Kalmadi is barred from the polls, the most likely candidate likely to contest from his camp is Indian Boxing Federation chairman Abhay Chautala.

Kalmadi, who represents Pune in the Lok Sabha, has been IOA president since 1996.

Daily Mail

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I sure hope so! Messrs Kalmadi and Bhanot have done their fair share to bring any future Olympic bid from Delhi in disrepute. Here's hoping that the Indians will finally learn the lessons from this major Commonwealth Games corruption scandal and make the radical amends needed. Fortunately, civil society in India has awoken to the risk - and the outrage over Kalmadi and his minions might even contribute to the Congress Party being swept from power in the next general elections and the assembly elections in Delhi. Here's hoping.

Since I'm quite interested in an Indian bid, I'd like to write my own assessment of the Games especially vis-à-vis a future Olympic bid sometime. Rols, do you think there'd be sufficient interest in the forum?

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Since I'm quite interested in an Indian bid, I'd like to write my own assessment of the Games especially vis-à-vis a future Olympic bid sometime. Rols, do you think there'd be sufficient interest in the forum?

Sure - any Olympic speculation's welcome, and India in particular gets a fair amount of interest.

I really wonder what they could do to turn around the negative perceptions of their capability that 2010 left as a legacy.

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Dikshit for IOC President!!!!!!!

Oh God, I'd even pick the spirits of Lord Killanin and JAS over her!

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