Delhi 2010 -The Verdict

[Sir Rols]

Report card time, I suppose.

Preparations: Sure, there's no getting around the fact that the lead-up to them was, in every sense of the word, an utter shambles. A textbook case of how not to prepare for the games. And now right up there with the Melbourne '56 and Athens '04 Olympics as a cautionary tale of why learning the ropes from past organisers, and planning well ahead, and keeping a close tab on progress, is important. But that said, it's not the be-all-and end-all either. Like those earlier Olympics, it soon proved that premature judgments of failure tend to come and bite back. And that wasn't helped by he media hysteria that arose in the weeks leading up which went far beyond the point of being objective and really was starting to get just plain nasty and over-the-top. Legitimate concern about crumbling bridges and the village cleanliness and readiness is one thing - but hoax beat-ups about smuggled bombs and mad scrambles on the orders of Sydney or London-based news desks to find footage, any footage, of stray dogs or beggars or athletes with stomach bugs was definitely crossing the line and turned real discusion of real issues into an orgy of schadenfreude.

Preparation Rating: B minus, Chaotic but no disaster.

Security: In the wash-up, to me what was the biggest concern beforehand, and most had me holding my breath right till the end - security - became a non-issue. Possibly because it was in the Indian Government's hands, rather than Kalmadi's committee, the biggest fears ahead of the games didn't materialise. We'll probably never hear how serious, and close to fruition, an of those security threats came, but I think it's fair to say there were real reasons to be worried. London's gonna face a similar challenge. I'm sure we all hope they succeed as well as India did.

Security rating: A Plus. The very fact we didn't hear anything about it once the games started is a credit to the security planning.

Ceremonies: Okay, here we get into objective territory. And I have to confess I have still to watch the CC (it started midnight here, and I'm at work now. Will have to wait till I get home to watch my recording of it). But I was pleasantly surprised by the OC - definitely more heart-felt and self-deprecating than I expected. VERY derivative, but still enjoyable.

Ceremonies rating: A Minus

Competition/Sports: To me, it was the actual competition that was the true saving grace of the games and lifted them from ho-hum to bloody enjoyable. Okay, I was a little disappointed that England didn't provide as tough a competition as I would have hopd in the loead-up to London, and maybe in cycling the lack of some of the big names from the UK took a bit of gloss off the results (that said, I do think Oz is gonna be competitive again at the London velodrome). But what really got me was how the blue riband events - athletics and swimming - seemed to be overshadowed by the truly "commonwealth" sports that so many people like to sniff at. Nearly every games - Olympic and the rest - produce one sport that "wins" me over, and this time around it was Netball that was the eye-opener for myself. For netball, the CWGs ARE the pinnacle, and the competition lived up to it. Fast, exciting, absorbing and scintillating. I'll never make fun of netball again. But that wasn't the only top-class event. Hockey, Diving, Rugby - all produced competition that was world-and-Olympic class, or not far off it, and some memorable matches. And there's a lot to be said for old rivalries - Oz V England, Scots V England, Aussies V Kiwis - for giving a spark to events. And the athletes seemed to be genuinely motivated and overjoyed to be there. This is one case where the athletes can well and truly take a bow. Well done! And I hope the anticipation of a real Ashes battle for the top of the medal table comes to fruition at Glasgow. The Poms will have no excuses, then.

Sports rating: A Plus

Operations: I suppose this is a bit of a catch-all category, and truth to tell, it was a mixed bag. Yes, crowds early on were a real problem. But just about every major games host in recent years bar Sydney and Vancouver struggled to fill up early and non-finals events. Even Barcelona, from personal recollection, had issues with some near-empty venues, and it didn't stop them being the contender, with Sydney, as the "best" games to date. That said, early attendance in Delhi was dire and I suppose just underlined the lack of Indian sporting enthusiasm and tradition. And really showed they should have moved heaven and earth to have Cricket there. But to be fair, crowds did pick up eventually, even if they only really seemed to "go off" at hockey. Ticketing was the other area, along with the preparations, that seemed to be a total shambles, no getting around that. Nobody ever seems to get ticketing totally right, but nobody has ever really got it as totally wrong as Kalmadi's team did. Those aside, apart from the occasional glitch, as happen at EVERY major games, things went reasonably well.

Operations rating: B. No disaster, again, but plenty of room to improve.

Overall: If I was a Samaranch, I think I'd take the lead of a few posters here already on other threads and label them "memorable". Not perfect (no games are), but not unsuccessful either and they sure surpassed expectations (not that expectations were high) by a mile. In the end these were a very Indian games, and like India, chaotic and at times confronting, but they worked. And ultimately, I'd say they left the CGF with a positive legacy. Certainly in a better state than those of, say, Edinburgh 86.

Rols' Overall Rating: A minus. What can I say? They left me wanting more. If the CWGs can achieve that, they came out ahead.

Edited October 15, 2010 by Sir Rols

[Scotguy]

And you shall have more my friend, in four years time in the wonderful and friendly city of Glasgow. The fight for medals shall be more interesting this time around, watch out Australia!!!

[Sir Rols]

And you shall have more my friend, in four years time in the wonderful and friendly city of Glasgow. The fight for medals shall be more interesting this time around, watch out Australia!!!

Having spent a great honeymoon in Glasgow (and Loch Lomond) two years ago, I'm really hyped now for CWGs 2014. Are you gonna head back home for them?

Also, nice to see also the media comments in Oz this morning have been generally positive. Particularly liked the Sydney Morning Herald's summations:

Delhi bellyachers the losers as Games overcome hurdles in strong finish

The people of Delhi have worked day and night to turn a shambles into a success, writes Peter Hanlon.

Here's something you probably haven't read outside India this past fortnight: the people of Delhi have done a terrific job, and are entitled to be proud of their Games. Faced with greater hurdles than Sally Pearson will ever clear, they've pulled it off admirably and deserve better than the carping, nit-picking and borderline racism that has masqueraded as informed coverage of the Games.

Neither the people of Delhi nor India as a whole can be held accountable for the incompetence of organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and his offsider Lalit Bhanot. They have let their country down, and their failure to meet basic expectations (the ''organising'' bit, for starters) should ensure neither is left in charge of running so much as a tandoori chook raffle in future. But is India the only place on the planet where buffoons have found their way to high office?

Locals were left to pick up the pieces and have done so manfully. Constant criticism by media passing off as news their lists of ''things that have made my job harder than it is at home'' has hurt them, and they have had enough.

''Stop the bellyaching, come out and play,'' one Delhi television station pleaded this week. It had a point.

Reciting the A to Z of Delhi Disasters is a tiresome sport, particularly when there is light where some have chosen to see only darkness. But why notice the peepal and shisham trees lining Delhi's broad avenues or the immaculately tended roundabout gardens when there's a ''Dirty Delhi'' headline to be had on a story about cycling's road racers encountering heat and dust? Cyclists on open roads sweating and breathing dust? Surely not.

Why listen to road race bronze medallist Chloe Hosking saying she often rides in 40 degree heat back home or anything from heat to sleet in Europe and that ''this is actually quite enjoyable''? Piddling details like this can wait until after the punchline when you're searching for new ways to tell the Delhi 2010 joke.

And why listen to England's Kelly Holmes, a double Olympic gold medallist with experience of elite competition the world over, when she says: ''I've been really surprised with how everything has come together. We have to give you credit. The village is remarkable.''

That's not what you want to hear when you're convinced you can crank up a link between the food and Nathan Hauritz's inability to take wickets on fifth-day Indian pitches.

The mess that greeted some teams upon arrival was inexcusable, and another knock on the organising committee. But as the wallahs who sweep streets with brooms made of twigs would attest, even the biggest mess can be cleaned up.

Security has been the major stumbling block to these Games but the bag searches, pat-downs and scanners have been omnipresent only because many countries wouldn't have come without them.

Delhiites who have worked day and night to turn Kalmadi and Bhanot's shambles into a workable, enjoyable Commonwealth Games have been the real losers. Not Sally Pearson, whose legitimate disqualification from the women's 100 metres was somehow twisted into the ''latest Delhi stuff-up''.

Some believe Delhi has confirmed that the Games' only hope of survival lies in rotation through the Commonwealth's Western countries, where the best athletes will happily avail themselves of conditions just like home. What a sad ideal.

Surely, not every athlete whose passport grants entry to the anachronistic Commonwealth Games field needs rock star treatment to do their thing. Surely, enough of them still hanker to see a little of the world they supposedly rule.

A colleague who has covered numerous cricket tours here has a catchcry for the speed bumps you hit along those dusty, dirty roads: ''TII - This Is India.''

Anyone expecting Melbourne or Beijing should have stayed home or taken a right turn at Albuquerque.

Sydney Morning Herald

Positive wrap-up from Jacquelin Magnay on the UK Telegraph as well:

Commonwealth Games 2010: India has every right to be proud after torrid build-up

Edited October 15, 2010 by Sir Rols

[Aronious]

I think you are a little too kind with respect to "Preparations" and "Operations"

The sport, competition and ceremonies itself were top notch. All the bad publicity about the Games probably garnered more interest in the event overall. In some respects, more exciting than any Games I've seen.

The complete and utter failure of the Games was the ticketing, the village conditions and the preparation of venues. To me, these were verging on failures.

Overall, India was saved by high quality competition...something that is ultimately (at least mostly) out of organisers control. While the event panned out well, I get the feeling they almost got lucky and fell across the line.

[Sir Rols]

I think you are a little too kind with respect to "Preparations" and "Operations"

The sport, competition and ceremonies itself were top notch. All the bad publicity about the Games probably garnered more interest in the event overall. In some respects, more exciting than any Games I've seen.

The complete and utter failure of the Games was the ticketing, the village conditions and the preparation of venues. To me, these were verging on failures.

Overall, India was saved by high quality competition...something that is ultimately (at least mostly) out of organisers control. While the event panned out well, I get the feeling they almost got lucky and fell across the line.

I'll give you the ticketing. To me, that was THE biggest fail of the games. And it should have been foreseen - there were many here who a year ago predicted exactly that when the stadium and seating finalisations were still just a future and fervent hope. The village? In the wash-out, despite the pre-event hysteria, nearly all comments I saw out of Delhi were overwhelmingly positive once Dikshit came to the rescue. Not a pass, but nowhere near a fail either.

As for preparations - well, that's one that's gonna be hotly debated here for years to come. I don't think describing them as "utter shambles" was being too kind. But in the end, they got done - one up over, say, the Canucks with their 1976 Olympic Stadium.

[FYI]

If anything, these CWG's serve the Indians as a serious lesson as how not to run a show. And that if they want to try for the Olympics, they're going to need to improve in a lot of critical areas first, especially if they want to be successful at convincing the IOC. But they're probably gonna need a couple of attempts at it before they can actually do so.

[LuigiVercotti]

Okay, I'll bite

Preparations: Fail

How can anyone give the Delhi 2010 preparations a pass mark? Everything from merchandising, human rights, the athletes village, venues, ticketing, media management, political interference, venue certification, liaison with the CGF and the provision of test events or appropriately managed induction of the athletes into the games was stuffed right royally. Lots of us here can remember the bun fight over Athens, some of us can recall the draw out saga that had Montreal under the pump financially up to and then after 1976. But at no time in living memory has a major sporting festival such as Delhi 2010 been so shambolic, so farcical, so ruinous to the key stake holders, so warped in its priorities, so mismanaged and so very very very close to being called off as these were in the lead up to the OC. It was only through the constant badgering and shaming of the various buffoons and criminals involved in getting Delhi ready that some kind of policy was put in place to get a semblance or order in place before the games started, and this wasn't achieved without a huge cost in terms of the exploitation of the poorest and most vulnerable members of Delhi's society. And frankly if 42 deaths (the official minimum) people including a 2 year old killed on the site of the Nehru stadium is considered to be just in the cause of getting these games delivered then whomever holds that opinion should take a very long and hard look at themselves.

Security: Pass

Thank goodness nothing happened to cause the bloodshed that was a distinct possibility before the games. However so many reports came back from the games that the necessarily overwhelming security presence meant that there was little of the same communal spirit engendered in previous host cities, plus the aggressive operations of over zealous security forces meant that you had instances such as spectators being knocked back for wearing crutches.

Sport: Fail (Pass for Hockey Netball and Rugby)

No world records in key sports such as athletics or swimming. Participation from leading athletes across of a multitude of sports and events was diminished far more than at any previous CGs (for example Jamaica had their top 7 sprinters not appear at these games). Sports such as athletics and boxing were marred by some atrocious official decisions, whilst doping reared its head both before and during the games. Australia's dominance of the medal tally went unchallenged whilst the domestic crowds generally remained disengaged from almost all sports. The addition of tennis to the program was laughable and should never be returned to the CGs.

Having said this the team sports of Hockey, Netball and Rugby 7s were good to brilliant. The problem is these three sports represent less than 5% of all medals on offer at the CGs and it wasn't necessarily the competition as a whole in each sport that saw such high standards, it was one on one rivalries between Australia and NZ or Australia and India. These rivalries are just as important in world cups, champion's trophies etc etc and it would be hard to argue that the venues or the hosts added anything to the actual standards on display.

Ceremonies: Pass

As I've watched neither and have no real interest in either the Opening or Closing Ceremonies I'll be guided by the other comments here.

Media: Pass

It would appear (admittedly from a fairly narrow cross section of English language TV, radio and web sites focused on Australian, Indian, British or Canuck sources) that the coverage of Delhi 2010 was good. Whilst some may remark on the negative press emerging both before and during the games I believe that the criticism was generally well founded and argued without racist tinges. Undoubtedly the Paul Henry episode left a bad taste (as did the partisanship of Indian journalists at for example the tennis) however there was barely any stereotypical snake charmer type stories (nor yes man style sucking up to the organisers). The opportunities afforded by new media or Web 2.0 however could have been better exploited.

Operations: Pass

Without actually being there or being engaged in the processes it's hard to fail the OC and attendant authorities in Delhi 2010. There are heaps of individual instances where there were problems (the weigh in for boxing, absent crowds, ticketing blunders, result reporting and information systems management for example) however the events went ahead, athletes competed and medals were awarded. Having said that the expectations were so low coming into these games that just seeing athletes compete was considered a major victory.

Legacy: Fail

I know it's probably way too early but it has to be said that the financial burden of so many venues that will not be used for competitive Indian sport in the near future will be one reason to mark these games down. Also the marginalisation of so many people and the exploitation of the urban poor of Delhi (which no doubt will be drowned out by Kalmadi's swaggering boasts) has been a cost that will take years to reconcile. The Commonwealth Games as a brand and the CGF as a sporting organisation have been tarnished and cheapened by all the pre-games scandals and their future is not more positive by engaging with the largest country in the Commonwealth. If anything Delhi 2010 has been a dead-end for the CGs and the burden for resurrecting the CGs as an event and as a experience is now weighing heavily on the broad shoulders of Glasgow. It must also be said that if there is an Indian bid for a future SOGs based in any way shape or form on the Delhi 2010 experience then that too will be a fail for the key players.

Overall: Pass (Barely)

The Delhi Games have been a bit like surviving a flight on a Garuda Airlines or the old Soviet era Aeroflot. The build up was ugly, messy, chaotic, technically flawed, overwrought with mismanagement and corruption, and by the width of a gnat's foreskin barely took off. There were some huge bumps along the way, a bare minimum of people turned up to actual engage with the experience, and whilst there were some reasonably spectacular sights on the way to the final destination everyone who was able to get a ticket and was brave enough to turn up were more than happy to get out without being involved in an almighty crash. No one will be in a rush to come back for another sojourn, and most will steer clear (note to the IOC) of a repeat of the Delhi 2010 experience.

[Rafa]

Report card time, I suppose.

Preparations: Sure, there's no getting around the fact that the lead-up to them was, in every sense of the word, an utter shambles. A textbook case of how not to prepare for the games. And now right up there with the Melbourne '56 and Athens '04 Olympics as a cautionary tale of why learning the ropes from past organisers, and planning well ahead, and keeping a close tab on progress, is important. But that said, it's not the be-all-and end-all either. Like those earlier Olympics, it soon proved that premature judgments of failure tend to come and bite back. And that wasn't helped by he media hysteria that arose in the weeks leading up which went far beyond the point of being objective and really was starting to get just plain nasty and over-the-top. Legitimate concern about crumbling bridges and the village cleanliness and readiness is one thing - but hoax beat-ups about smuggled bombs and mad scrambles on the orders of Sydney or London-based news desks to find footage, any footage, of stray dogs or beggars or athletes with stomach bugs was definitely crossing the line and turned real discusion of real issues into an orgy of schadenfreude.

Preparation Rating: B minus, Chaotic but no disaster.

Security: In the wash-up, to me what was the biggest concern beforehand, and most had me holding my breath right till the end - security - became a non-issue. Possibly because it was in the Indian Government's hands, rather than Kalmadi's committee, the biggest fears ahead of the games didn't materialise. We'll probably never hear how serious, and close to fruition, an of those security threats came, but I think it's fair to say there were real reasons to be worried. London's gonna face a similar challenge. I'm sure we all hope they succeed as well as India did.

Security rating: A Plus. The very fact we didn't hear anything about it once the games started is a credit to the security planning.

Ceremonies: Okay, here we get into objective territory. And I have to confess I have still to watch the CC (it started midnight here, and I'm at work now. Will have to wait till I get home to watch my recording of it). But I was pleasantly surprised by the OC - definitely more heart-felt and self-deprecating than I expected. VERY derivative, but still enjoyable.

Ceremonies rating: A Minus

Competition/Sports: To me, it was the actual competition that was the true saving grace of the games and lifted them from ho-hum to bloody enjoyable. Okay, I was a little disappointed that England didn't provide as tough a competition as I would have hopd in the loead-up to London, and maybe in cycling the lack of some of the big names from the UK took a bit of gloss off the results (that said, I do think Oz is gonna be competitive again at the London velodrome). But what really got me was how the blue riband events - athletics and swimming - seemed to be overshadowed by the truly "commonwealth" sports that so many people like to sniff at. Nearly every games - Olympic and the rest - produce one sport that "wins" me over, and this time around it was Netball that was the eye-opener for myself. For netball, the CWGs ARE the pinnacle, and the competition lived up to it. Fast, exciting, absorbing and scintillating. I'll never make fun of netball again. But that wasn't the only top-class event. Hockey, Diving, Rugby - all produced competition that was world-and-Olympic class, or not far off it, and some memorable matches. And there's a lot to be said for old rivalries - Oz V England, Scots V England, Aussies V Kiwis - for giving a spark to events. And the athletes seemed to be genuinely motivated and overjoyed to be there. This is one case where the athletes can well and truly take a bow. Well done! And I hope the anticipation of a real Ashes battle for the top of the medal table comes to fruition at Glasgow. The Poms will have no excuses, then.

Sports rating: A Plus

Operations: I suppose this is a bit of a catch-all category, and truth to tell, it was a mixed bag. Yes, crowds early on were a real problem. But just about every major games host in recent years bar Sydney and Vancouver struggled to fill up early and non-finals events. Even Barcelona, from personal recollection, had issues with some near-empty venues, and it didn't stop them being the contender, with Sydney, as the "best" games to date. That said, early attendance in Delhi was dire and I suppose just underlined the lack of Indian sporting enthusiasm and tradition. And really showed they should have moved heaven and earth to have Cricket there. But to be fair, crowds did pick up eventually, even if they only really seemed to "go off" at hockey. Ticketing was the other area, along with the preparations, that seemed to be a total shambles, no getting around that. Nobody ever seems to get ticketing totally right, but nobody has ever really got it as totally wrong as Kalmadi's team did. Those aside, apart from the occasional glitch, as happen at EVERY major games, things went reasonably well.

Operations rating: B. No disaster, again, but plenty of room to improve.

Overall: If I was a Samaranch, I think I'd take the lead of a few posters here already on other threads and label them "memorable". Not perfect (no games are), but not unsuccessful either and they sure surpassed expectations (not that expectations were high) by a mile. In the end these were a very Indian games, and like India, chaotic and at times confronting, but they worked. And ultimately, I'd say they left the CGF with a positive legacy. Certainly in a better state than those of, say, Edinburgh 86.

Rols' Overall Rating: A minus. What can I say? They left me wanting more. If the CWGs can achieve that, they came out ahead.

Highly inflated scores.

[Rob2012]

How did you rate the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games?

Not up to scratch

Did you enjoy the Games?

Yes, more than expected

Preparations: Absolutely mess and not good enough quite frankly. Too much rushing, not enough testing, village not ready in time. And that's the upside. Merchandising was non-existant and the company which was given the rights to produce the merchandise (very late in the day) is set to miss out on the profit expected. A collapsing bridge, several deaths on site, 19 seperate organising bodies building the venues, ticketing left late and not done well enough etc

SCORE: E-

Security: Absoltely no problems as far as I could see. And getting Monkey Bouncers in to prevent other monkies entering the venues was a stroke of genius. The only report of serious magnitude turned out to be a disgusting hoax.

SCORE: A+

Ceremonies: I only saw the Opening so my comment is based on that alone. Some great moments, like the giant yoga dude, the train of chaos, some of the dancing was great, the tree of knowledge was beautiful. The speeches were way too long and interupted the action, the school kids painting underneath giant sheets was a rip-off of Manchester 2002 and not as well done, and the fireworks were a little bit of a damp sqib.

SCORE: B-

Competition/sports: What I saw I mostly enjoyed. Some great table tennis battles, 7s was a success, some potential new track stars emerging (I want to see more of Louise Hazel), Becky Adlington overcoming illness to win, I enjoyed the hockey that I managed to catch too. The top names weren't there, which was a real shame and basically gave the Ozzies free reign in the velodrome. The crowds got better and better as the Games went on, but because of the poor start I can't say they were brilliant overall; and a few small incidents distracting competitors wasn't good.

SCORE: B

Operations: Well, they were flying by the seat of their pants. Not enough attention to the six Ps (prior preparation prevents piss poor performance) is perhaps a reason why we saw a scoreboard falling down, the rush to get the track and field ready on time after the ceremonies, the ticketing facrce, dis-engagement between the police and the OC with regard to merchandising kiosks etc. So, I think this area is the one where my verdict of "not up to scratch" is most accurate. Most things were ok, but not everything was.

SCORE: D+

Media: Ranged from the excellent to the criminal. I sit somewhere in between Rols and Eusebius on this one. I do think there was some very poor reporting and some which wasn't researched well enough, and the less said about the bomb hoax the better. There was also some excellent positive reports. Everyone agrees on positive reporting and poor negative reporting; the former is good and the latter is bad, simples. However, some Indians on another forum (I'm sure you know which one) don't recognise excellent negative reporting when they see it. There is an undercurrent of insecurity amongst a small minority of Indians which has led to accusations ranging from jealousy to outright racism when I've tried to post valid negative articles. So, my score takes this into account as well.

SCORE: B-

Overall: I enjoyed the Games but most aspects are no model for anything, other than how not to do things in future. It's hard to come up with a score which encompasses both of these feelings. The athletes enjoyed it, but those who had their trips delayed because of the village being incomplete are surely aware things could have been better. The ceremonies were ok, the sport above average but rarely excellent, the operations barely passable, the preparations shambolic, but on the other hand the security was tight as a duck's arse. The sheer size of the Games does little to negate these negatives; sure it was much bigger than Manchester 2002 but does size really matter, especially when you bite off more than you can chew?

ROB'S OVERALL SCORE: C-

(considering where we were three weeks ago, that's a pretty good score)

Edited October 15, 2010 by RobH

[OneTimeOnly]

Security: In the wash-up, to me what was the biggest concern beforehand, and most had me holding my breath right till the end - security - became a non-issue. Possibly because it was in the Indian Government's hands, rather than Kalmadi's committee, the biggest fears ahead of the games didn't materialise. We'll probably never hear how serious, and close to fruition, an of those security threats came, but I think it's fair to say there were real reasons to be worried. London's gonna face a similar challenge. I'm sure we all hope they succeed as well as India did.

Security rating: A Plus. The very fact we didn't hear anything about it once the games started is a credit to the security planning.

Maybe because nobody tried anything?

[Brekkie Boy]

Two things need to come out of this. Firstly, a complete shake up of the Commonwealth Games Federation, including the axing of Mike Fennell and revamp of future bidding and crucially, monitoring processes.

And secondly, the instant rejection of any Delhi Olympic bid.

[mr.x]

Keep in mind that international and media criticism was the sole reason why Delhi even managed to cross the finish line...

[Detroit]

I am one of few Americans who can even WATCH the Commonwealth Games. I can watch because since I live right next to the Canada border, we get CBC Its why we didn't get VERSUS to watch NHL games. Saying that, everything was in the morning. But UGANDA GOT MULTIPLE GOLD MEDALS SO YEA!!!!

[Sir Rols]

Maybe because nobody tried anything?

CWG: Al-Qaeda planned attacks on Oct 12, 13

NEW DELHI: The unprecedented security across the Capital might have inconvenienced Delhiites, but its aim was to prevent al-Qaida and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) from carrying out deadly attacks through `multiple shoot-outs' targeting the Commonwealth Games village, sports venues and a five-star hotel specifically on October 12 and 13.

Al-Qaida and LeT had chosen these two dates for their strikes using terrorists trained in the region along Afghan- Pakistan border.

The plan was to sneak in a number of jihadis simultaneously through Indo- Nepal or Indo- Bangladesh borders or from across the India's western border. There was also intelligence input that some others would come from West Asia, using legal channels through proper visas.

Government sources said that a Western intelligence agency had tipped off India on October 10 about these specific plans.

Alarmed by the input, the government had immediately enhanced the security of the Games venues and village from three layers to four and brought in additional forces, including armed commandos, to foil any attempt of sabotage even from air.

"The input was very specific about the venues and suggested that the terrorists would probably come from West Asia, Nepal or from across India's western border," a source said.

Security was also increased in all eight leading five-star hotels in Delhi.

There was also information that the terrorists may use paragliders to reach the venues prompting authorities to put in place anti-aircraft guns.

"Credentials of all foreign nationals arriving in international airports were checked one-by-one. Twenty Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) were deployed besides keeping ready a special team of 40 army and NSG commandos -- equipped with special weapons capable to shoot down paragliders from a distance -- near the sporting venues, including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium," said the source.

"Though the general threat still exists, the Delhi Police and other security agencies through their meticulous planning and deployment averted any strike specifically during the CWG ," the source said.

Sources said that the fresh inputs had nothing to do with what the HuJI commander and al-Qaida member Ilyas Kashmiri had threatened a month before the Games. "The latest plan was the brainchild of some other elements/modules within al-Qaida and LeT," said a source.

Economic Times

[Guardian]

Well, according to the CBC, another legacy of the 2010 Commonwealth Games has surfaced: thievery.

Link: CBC: Thieves ransack Commonwealth Games venues

Examples of graffiti against the Commonwealth Games

[LuigiVercotti]

Well, according to the CBC, another legacy of the 2010 Commonwealth Games has surfaced: thievery.

Link: CBC: Thieves ransack Commonwealth Games venues

Examples of graffiti against the Commonwealth Games

Wonder if the staff stealing phones etc are the same ones who slept and crapped in the village rooms scant days before the village opened. Or perhaps they were the ones press ganged into herculean tasks by the Kalmadi Krew to fix up the feck-ups that had as their root cause the inadequacies of the planners and OC.

Of course the ones who deserve the spoils of the farce are the unskilled $2 a day labourers who had dozens of deaths in their ranks and have bugger all to show for it.

Edited October 28, 2010 by eusebius65

[Detroit]

Two things need to come out of this. Firstly, a complete shake up of the Commonwealth Games Federation, including the axing of Mike Fennell and revamp of future bidding and crucially, monitoring processes.

And secondly, the instant rejection of any Delhi Olympic bid.

They need committments. They need to expand the game outside of Commonwealth cities, to generate interest. I say put it in Canada, by the USA border for one year, to generate American interest.

[Sir Rols]

They need committments. They need to expand the game outside of Commonwealth cities, to generate interest. I say put it in Canada, by the USA border for one year, to generate American interest.

They could hold them in Niagara Falls and it wouldn't make any difference. Why would the US take any notice of them when they don't take part? It's like saying the Asian games need to be held in San Francisco to be successful, or the All-Africans have to go to Harlem to thrive. It's not like US participation and interest is the be-all-and-end-all for any event.

[Sir Rols]

Wow - it's ben a year already.

Interesting item from the Wall St Journal on the legacy a year on:

Delhi Journal: Carbuncles And Corruption – The Commonwealth Games Legacy

It is the year 2060. A young historian, modeling himself on Ramachandra Guha, decides to write a history of the past half-century. It will not be called “India After Gandhi” but he toys with a similar title and pitches to his agent that it will be called, in equally epoch-defining terms, “India After the Commonwealth Games.”

His agent demurs, saying he will approach a publisher but needs a summary of the book’s key thesis and an explanation of the title.

What does that synopsis say?

Almost a year after India hosted its biggest-ever international event, its significance in defining modern India’s history is far from settled. Instead, its immediate reverberations keep banging around the city, like thunder claps in a canyon.

Games honcho Suresh Kalmadi remains in jail, along with some of his top lieutenants, on corruption-related charges, which he denies. If there were a crime of tarnishing India’s image in the world, he’d be facing several counts for that, too.

The papers remain full of stories about the clean-up: not of the Games venues but of myriad alleged scams and the alleged scamsters that perpetrated them. The most recent: the registering of a first information report this week against 10 Delhi Development Authority officials over alleged irregularities in the construction of badminton and squash courts at the Siri Fort

Yesterday afternoon, I attended a briefing by an adviser to Britain’s SIS Live, which handled the international broadcasting for the games. It is still trying to have its name cleared after the Shunglu Committee, which investigated Games corruption, and then the Comptroller and Auditor General, each issued reports that found irregularities in SIS’s contract.

The adviser, Terence Fane-Saunders, said the company has point-by-point, detailed rebuttals for all the allegations – but has yet to be asked to produce them by anyone in government. So now, 11 months on, it is intensifying its lobbying to try to set the record straight with the Group of Ministers that was recently formed to examine the Shunglu Committee’s findings. Oh, and SIS is still owed £12 million from its contract.

Further afield, there is little to suggest that Indian athletics will be any different for hosting the spectacular even though the Delhi organizers won the right to host the Games over Hamilton, Ontario, in 2003 after promising to pay for athletes’ training in other Commonwealth countries.

Visiting some of the stadiums yesterday, it is clear that athletics and other Games’ disciplines stand in no higher regard or have any more official support than they did two years ago. The Thyagaraj netball stadium looks spic and span, with mop-wielding women wiping its vast expanses of marble. On the track outside, a Delhi school district athletic meet was underway, with perhaps 100 school kids competing in track events.

Nonetheless, one former Games official, a schoolteacher involved in the school track meet, lamented that the stadium was effectively closed to the public. “It is not being properly used, entering the gate is a big hassle; my schoolboys tried to enter and could not,” he said.

Still, that was better than the situation at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. During the Games, I spent a lot of time there, at the opening and closing ceremonies, at track and field, and, most engagingly, at lawn bowls — an event that demonstrated the world-spanning reach of the Games by including countries that otherwise have no chance in international sport. Come on, Niue! Go Falkland Islands!

Today, the signs to the bowling green are still standing. But the stadium and everything within it are closed: A guard sat in a tarpaulin-covered shack smoking a cigarette, a large pile of trash building behind him, at the gate I used to enter.

And every day, on the way to work, I drive by what, for me, has become the Games’ white elephant: The architectural calamity that was the weightlifting arena. It is, as Prince Charles would say, a “monstrous carbuncle” on the face of an old friend, in this case, the tree-covered horizons of South Delhi.

These are all issues that will help shape the Games short-term legacy. But I suspect that, like only a few other athletic events in history, the Delhi Commonwealth Games may ultimately be remembered not as much for what happened but for what the event stood for and how it set the stage for things to come. They may be viewed by our young historian decades hence as the best starting point from which to measure how India developed in the first half of the 21st century.

They could be viewed as the moment when the world realized that India – despite its heady economic growth and its giant population – was not a place worth doing business in. The time when people the world over gave up on the India story and started to view it as a country determined to squander its opportunities by embarking on grandly delusional, hubris-spiked plans that further corroded public trust in its weak government.

Projecting ahead, under this scenario, the Games might be viewed as the beginning of a dark age when the ruling Congress party, faced with an ineffective opposition, clung to power for years with an ever-weakening grip and condemned the country’s prospects in the process.

Or, the Games could be viewed in hindsight as the singular symbol of the end of Delhi’s decade of excess – the moment when the rot that pervaded every corner of government finally prompted the citizenry to push for a clean-up, and the ruling party and the broader body politic responded positively.

Alok Kejriwal, one of Anna Hazare’s top lieutenants, told the WSJ recently that the Commonwealth Games fiasco was the catalyst that prompted him and his compatriots to ratchet up their anticorruption campaigning and try to form a mass movement.

Under that scenario, there is scope for a new leader who has the wind of popular support at his or her back to markedly shift the nation’s direction, as Roosevelt did in the U.S. in the 1930s — an era with which today’s India is sometimes compared in its path to development. The Games could come to be viewed as the catalyst that set India on a path to universal prosperity by the time our historian puts electronic pen to paper.

Either way, it’s not wise to think of today as being almost one year since the Games; in many ways, the Games are still going on and we are now defining their place in history.

Wall Street Journal

[Rob2012]

It's got a lot right about the Games. Are they really that big a defining event in India's century though? Seems a bit over the top.

October 30th is a date to put in your diaries. That's the date India will be hosting its first F1 Grand Prix - a massive sporting event even if you don't like motorsports. Apart from rumours in the last couple of days of some drivers and many team personnel are having trouble getting Visas (a situation that will HAVE to be sorted quickly by India if the event is to even work), it seems this is destined to be a success. It is, by contrast to the CWG, a mostly private venture with little government interference. If it goes well, as is expected, it is perhaps a sign that India's private economy is more capable and less corrupt than aspects of its public economy. It has the potential to restore some of India's tarnished reputation when it comes to hosting big events and I hope it does.

And given that it's following places like Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and South Korea onto the calendar as a new circuit, it'll be interesting to see how it stacks up.

[Sir Rols]

Sounds just like they were on the eve of the actual games. Wonder if the toilets have been cleaned since last year?

Year on, filthy CWG flats lie unoccupied

NEW DELHI: It was supposed to be one of the showpieces of the 19th Commonwealth Games, an example of how hosting international sports meets can spur infrastructure growth.

But with just days to go before the first anniversary of the event, the luxurious flats at the Games Village, which hosted the athletes and officials, are in a state of disrepair.

Constructed on the banks of the Yamuna, the two- to five- bedroom flats were meant to be sold just after the Oct 3-14 extravaganza. And with a price tag of Rs.1-5 crore, the prospective buyers were promised a host of world-class amenities and luxury.

Under the guise of one such prospective buyer, this IANS correspondent entered the heavily manned CWG village premises to find out the status of these apartments.

Labourers could be seen working round-the-clock to finish uncompleted work in these flats, the auction of which has been hanging fire for a long time. "There are many things which need to be done like flooring, polishing and repairing of electrical appliances. The work done earlier was shoddy due to time constraint," a mason from Jharkhand told IANS.

"In some flats, we are re-laying the tiles in bathrooms that were not fitted properly. It will take at least six months to finish the work," he added.

This correspondent managed to enter Towers 11, 14, 16 and 17 to gauge the situation. While some lobbies were strewn with cement bags, sacks and hardware, washrooms and kitchens were in a bad shape in many flats.

Near the Club House, the swimming pool is being reconstructed in view of "loopholes in the earlier construction". "Had it (swimming pool) been constructed properly, it would not have to be reconstructed. In fact, repair work is on in almost all the flats," said a construction worker on the condition of anonymity.

"The work still needs to be done in the basement. And it's not a short-term affair. We are under pressure to complete the work. Why did they let the flats remain locked up for a long time after the Games concluded?" asked one of the supervisors.

Around 5,000 athletes and officials stayed in these apartments during the Games. Of 1,168 flats constructed in the village, 723 flats are owned by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Initially, DDA planned to auction 100 of them to ascertain the market value of these flats.

However, the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) in August refused to give completion certificate to the village, thus tripping the DDA plan. "We were supposed to auction the flats in the Games Village, but DUAC has refused to give us the completion certificate. The issue lies with the competent authority," DDA spokesperson Nimo Dhar told IANS.

Asked about the time-frame for auctioning, Dhar said: "I cannot give you the exact time-frame. However, the flats in our custody are complete and they are being refurbished."

Apart from auctioning 100 flats, DDA plans to auction the remaining flats to government departments and public sector undertakings. But as things stand currently, a lot of water might flow down the Yamuna before the process is completed.

Economic Times

[Alexjc]

This is such a shame...No wonder the CWGs are becomming a turn off. But then this IS India's fault.

At least Glasgow looks to be placing the CWGs onto a more frugal and sustainable path...If they do succeed, then I might start liking the Commonwealths again!

[Sir Rols]

India submits Commonwealth Games legacy report to CWG Federation

NEW DELHI: India has submitted a dossier on the Commonwealth Games held here to the CWG Federation at St Kitts in Caribbean Islands outlining the whole process of planning and execution of the sporting event.

The legacy report of the mega sporting held here between October 3-14 last year was submitted by the CWG Organising Committee Chief Executive officer and Chairman Jarnail Singh.

"We have submitted 'Delhi 2010 Post Games Report' to the CGF on November nine," Singh told PTI.

He said that the members of the 71-member CGF appreciated the conduct of the Games in the national capital.

The 171-page report provides a summary of the planning and execution endeavours that went into holding the largest multi-sport maiden event hosted by India.

However, it does not carry detail of scams and financial irregularities allegedly involving jailed former OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi and Secretary General Lalit Bhanot.

"It is an internal matter. Why should it be discussed," Singh said without elaborating when asked whether the issues related to financial irregularities came up during the meeting at the Caribbean Islands.

The names of Kalmadi and Bhanot among others figured in the report as part of the 19-member Executive Board set up for the Games.

The report, a copy of which is with PTI, has suggested that accounts and finance should be handled by professionally qualified people of high integrity, implying that the OC accounts for the 2010 Games could have been better managed.

Economic Times

Love that last sentence. maybe the Indians have a sense of humour after all!

[baron-pierreIV]

First Beijing took 2 years to complete their OR...which I don't think they really revised much. They just wore out the IOC. Now India. I can only imagine what Sochi will report to the IOC. Then, Rio...

Well, yes, there are the BRICs and Doha who will take over from the US...but look at the 'honest' legacy they will pass on. They made their bed, I guess they should lay on it.

[Sir Rols]

MPs want Games Village flat quota

New Delhi, Dec. 12: The corruption scandals surrounding the Commonwealth Games may have been a blot on India’s political class, but that has not stopped them from asking for a share in the Games Village flats.

Samajwadi Lok Sabha member Shailender Kumar today demanded an MPs’ quota in the allotment of the 715 unsold Games flats, the cheapest of which would fetch at least Rs 1 crore in the market. The other House members supported him in unison.

All the flats were to be auctioned off to the public but the Delhi Development Authority has already amended the rules to accommodate a few government institutions and public sector units.

“Many MPs have expressed the desire to buy the flats at the Commonwealth Games Village. It will be good if the government could fix a certain quota for the MPs,” Kumar said during the afternoon session.

He did not suggest a concession on the price but a quota for MPs would be likely to offer one.

The Lok Sabha MPs, however, are not the first lawmakers to eye these flats, built on the Yamuna’s banks in the east Delhi locality of Mayur Vihar and close to a Metro station and a flyover.

Delhi MLAs too had raised a similar demand in April, asking that the flats be given to them at a concession or on a soft loan.

In reply to Kumar’s demand, urban development minister Kamal Nath said there was no such scheme for MPs at the moment. “But if we get a proposal from the respected Speaker of the Lok Sabha, we can think about it.”

Nath, however, added that the flats might not be given free of cost to the MPs. “We will have to first carry out an open auction of limited flats to determine the market price.”

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) vice-chairperson G.S. Patnaik said the agency would have to amend the rules “in case we have to allot (some of) the flats to MPs and MLAs”.

Emaar-MGF and the DDA had jointly built the Games Village. Emaar owned 453 of the flats, while the remaining 715 belonged to the DDA. The flats owned by Emaar had been sold even before the Games concluded on October 14 last year. But 14 months on, the buyers have not been able to take possession because the DDA has not issued a completion certificate.

The problem is that the builder apparently violated the rule on the floor-area ratio and built about 17 extra flats. The case is being heard in the high court.

The Telegraph (Calcutta)