Hambantota presentation would have been seen as "attack on close friend India"

[gamesSL]

ctober 16 – Nalin Attygalle (pictured left), the man behind Hambantota's bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, claimed it would have been wrong for the Sri Lankan city to give a presentation to voters at an annual meeting ahead of the Opening Ceremony as it could have been viewed as an attack on India.

The Hambantota team were widely criticised for failing to give an optional presentation on their bid to Prince Edward, the Vice Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), and other high ranking officials who will decide where the 2018 Games will be held.

The Gold Coast in Australia, Hambantota's only rival for the event, gave a flawless performance at the meeting.

However, Attygalle said that while Hambantota regret the fact they couldn't show voters the strength of their bid in a presentation, they made the decision so as not to upset their strong allies India.

Attygalle told insidethegames: "Avoiding the presentation is something we have been heavily criticised for and something Hambantota would like to address, so let me explain.

"The presentations were scheduled to take place prior to the Opening Ceremony, and if you think back to what the circumstances were like for Delhi back then, the whole world - particularly the Indian media - were heavily criticising the Games and the Organising Committee.

"They were saying things like the Games is not going to happen, it is a complete failure and that only bad things will happen from the event.

"Some of the Western media were even saying it was the wrong decision to award the Games to an Asian country.

"Now, India is like Sri Lanka's big brother and at a time when India is under attack, does anybody really want Hambantota and Sri Lanka - a close friend of India - to give a presentation saying we can do a much better job than Delhi when the city is in trouble?

"If we had shown the strength of our bid at that stage, as another Asian city, it would have highlighted some of Delhi's weaknesses in the build-up to the Games and it could have had huge repercussions on the relationship between India and Sri Lanka.

"Therefore, it was a strategic decision we made as a team not to take up the kind offer to give an optional presentation.

"Yes, missing an opportunity to showcase what a fantastic Commonwealth Games Hambantota can host in 2018 is one minus point but maintaining good relations going forward is two plus points.

"We also knew from the start that India would do a far better job than the media had predicted so we thought it would be best for us to start our talking after Delhi now that things have gone quite well, as we predicted.

"India showed they have world class facilities to host a major sporting event and though there were a few problems along the way, that is a minor issue and India has done well.

"If you now ask to hear about Hambantota, we would be delighted to tell all about our beautiful city because India has overcome criticism to show that Asia can host a Commonwealth Games and host it well."

Attygalle added that a 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambantota would be far different to Delhi 2010 because India was aiming to prove it could host an Olympic and Paralympic Games in the future.

He said: "India have built their Commonwealth Games on a huge scale so it has been like a mini-Olympics.

"It looks very much like the Games have been designed as a platform for the Olympics.

"But my only concern with that is that Commonwealth standards and Olympic standards are two different things.

"In the future, I think we must be aware of this and Hambantota would certainly conduct the Games in a far more compact way.

"The city is building and improving its infrastructure all the time following the devastation of the Tsunami [which decimated the country in 2004] and the Commonwealth Games would really help us continue to do that and provide a real sporting legacy to the people of Sri Lanka.

"We would conduct the 2018 Games in a very organised, very efficient way so that it wouldn't have any of the logistical problems Delhi had.

"But we on the Hambantota 2018 bid team are very proud of Delhi for showing that an Asian country can host a strong Commonwealth Games and I have learnt so much from being here and participating in the Candidate City Observer programme.

"We can now take the strengths of Delhi but also learn from the weaknesses."

My link

[Rob2012]

"Now, India is like Sri Lanka's big brother and at a time when India is under attack, does anybody really want Hambantota and Sri Lanka - a close friend of India - to give a presentation saying we can do a much better job than Delhi when the city is in trouble?

That is the piss poorest excuse I've ever heard!

You don't go into a presentation saying "we'll do better than the current hosts", you simply go into it to sell your bid. And you don't even need to mention the current hosts if you're talking about how organised your construction will be, for example. So why would talking about your plans be taken as an implicit attack on Delhi?

Besides which, these presentations take a while to prepare - you don't scribble them on the back of a beer mat. The strong media criticism of Delhi only came within the space of one very intense week before the Games began. Are we really to believe Hambantota spent the time it took to prepare a presentation but didn't go through with it? And how come we're only hearing this now? I'm more inclined to believe they had nothing prepared to be honest, and are now making excuses for themselves.

Furthermore, Australia has very important trade links with India but they weren't fearful of the impact of their presentation. I take it Nalin Attygalle thinks Australia was wrong to do their presentation? If so, how can he explain the fact that it was well received amongst CWGF delegates, and does he now think it was a mistake not to present his 'city's' vision for 2018?

And another thing (!) - the no-show and subsequent public explanation for it (saying "it would have highlighted some of Delhi's weaknesses") does much more to highlight Delhi's weaknesses than quietly getting on with a behind-closed-doors presentation could have done. Great own goal there guys!

There's too many holes in this explanation for it to be true in my opinion.

India only made risible excuses for its poor preparations after it won the right to host. Hambantota is taking things to a whole new level with this no-show and the 'explanation' behind it. The CWGF would be mad to pick them.

[gamesSL]

That is the piss poorest excuse I've ever heard!

You don't go into a presentation saying "we'll do better than the current hosts", you simply go into it to sell your bid. And you don't even need to mention the current hosts if you're talking about how organised your construction will be, for example. So why would talking about your plans be taken as an implicit attack on Delhi?

Sorry, but India only made risible excuses for its poor preparations after it won the right to host. Hambantota is taking things to a whole new level with this no-show and the 'explanation' behind it. The CWGF would be mad to pick them.

the message is brother when their were so many controversies around the delhi games its not a intelligent thing to go and say that the country close to india(another south asian country) would like to have the the games in 2018

not giving the presentation less damaging than giving one on that time

[Rob2012]

If that's what they thought (and I notice the winking emoticon) then it was a big miscalculation on their part GamesSL. The reaction to their no-show shows that. However, I don't believe their explanation for a second.

[gamesSL]

If that's what they thought (and I notice the winking emoticon) then it was a big miscalculation on their part GamesSL. The reaction to their no-show shows that. However, I don't believe their explanation for a second.

the people behind the hambantota 2018 knows the best

and when the man who defeated the worlds most dangerous terrorist organisation the man who balances relationship with china and india says get ready for the games its serious

President assures Lankan team

President Rajapaksa assured the Sri Lankan Commonwealth team that the new Biyagama Sports Complex will be made available to them for continuous training targeting the 2018 Commonwealth Games for which Sri Lanka is strongly bidding to become the host country.

He gave this assurance when he met the Sri Lankan team including Boxing Gold Medalist Manju Wanniarachchi in New Delhi on Friday.

Taking the example set by the Indian team which had doubled its medal record as the host country compared to their last record, the President called upon the Sri Lankan team to set a record at the 2018 Games if Sri Lanka succeeded in winning host status

[Kenadian]

That is a stupid excuse. And no bid has ever said "we can do better than these current games". You're supposed to say "we can do better than our competing bid." Actually, at this stage, you merely present your case. The CWF is actively looking for a host for the 2018 Games. They were not looking to strip India of its Games just days before the Opening Ceremony. 2018 is about the future. This presentation was an opportunity. And Hambantota blew it! This action and this excuse shows will make some wonder if they have the sophistication to pull this off.

[Sir Rols]

Well, if they wanna blow off the one opportunity to address all the 71 CGF delegates together before next year's vote - even if just to have a few girls hand-out brochures - that's their call. But better not start crying "unfair" when they fail miserably in the vote.

[LuigiVercotti]

Frankly the Sri Lankans are pathetic. Not only are they showing their utter ineptitude and disrespect for any serious contemplation of what is supposed to be a meaningful exercise in public sports policy they are also displaying the same race card/victimisation that those sad sack sods that were displaying under the direction of that Klown Kalmadi.

If Asia is Hambatotan code for the criminal farce at Delhi, or the ludicrous and pathetic going ons from a country that has barely emerged from civil war and thousands want to leave because of their own tribal and ethnic problems then I say keep the CGs in the developed first world countries of the Commonwealth. Let's stop this PC rubbish and remember that if you can't get your shite together don't use your skin colour or your geographic location as an excuse.

[gamesSL]

If Asia is Hambatotan code for the criminal farce at Delhi, or the ludicrous and pathetic going ons from a country that has barely emerged from civil war and thousands want to leave because of their own tribal and ethnic problems then I say keep the CGs in the developed first world countries of the Commonwealth. Let's stop this PC rubbish and remember that if you can't get your shite together don't use your skin colour or your geographic location as an excuse.

what are you talking about man seems like you can bare the fact that emerging nations are trying to host the games and talking BS in pain. well sri lanka is emerging from the civil war.. i dont want explain more to fool like you. yeah Australian could have the games and rename it Australian games or white games if you like (Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom have hosted 13 of the 19 Games)

and im sure sri lanka bid team will not destroy or damage any property if they lose the bid(im sure sri lanka will win because their are less pathetic people like you in the world)to gold coast.

[Rob2012]

yeah Australian could have the games and rename it Australian games or white games if you like

That's very kind of you, thank you. Does anyone fancy a "White Games" logo design competition after Puppy's finished with the current one? I'm already overflowing with ideas.

I wouldn't take things quite so personally GamesSL. When eusebius says "the Sri Lankans are pathetic" he is talking about their bid team, not the whole country. And on the evidence so far it's hard to disagree with that assessment, sorry. They need to buck their ideas up if this bid isn't going to be taken seriously. A no-show isn't a good start at all.

[LuigiVercotti]

How about updating your version of Google Translator from the Gibberish version and whilst you are at it explain to all of us here the intricacies of Tamil versus Sinhalese relations and their impact upon refugee movements.

Hambantota is a joke bid that will has even less credibility than Baku's bid for the SOGs. The Commonwealtn Games cannot countenance a small third world port with less infrastructure than required to run a credible school sports carnival in a developed country. And pouting and whining about some kind of racial brotherhood shared with other countries that can't deliver basic human rights and opportunities across all is no grounds to mount a CG bid.

[gamesSL]

That's very kind of you, thank you. Does anyone fancy a "White Games" logo design competition after Puppy's finished with the current one? I'm already overflowing with ideas.

I wouldn't take things quite so personally GamesSL. When eusebius says "the Sri Lankans are pathetic" he is talking about their bid team, not the whole country. And on the evidence so far it's hard to disagree with that assessment, sorry. They need to buck their ideas up if this bid isn't going to be taken seriously. A no-show isn't a good start at all.

sorry brother but ''white games'' was for that pathetic guy eusebius

[Rob2012]

Shame, I was looking forward to them.

[LuigiVercotti]

sorry brother but ''white games'' was for that pathetic guy eusebius

Ah, the famous 'Arush' defence...not just intellectually sound but based on the most reasonable presentation of the credible tenets of a third world bid for sporting glory.

And of course considering how Rajiv Gandhi experienced Sri Lankan concern for Indian sensitivities it is entirely appropriate to see the erudite leaders of Hambantota not rub Delhi's nose in it

[Rafa]

You know, for a second, I thought we would get through this bid cycle without a resident psycho,but we have gamesSL!

This bid is significantly more ridiculous than Abuja's but hey, whats wrong with some fun.

Congrats on building an airport.

[Rob2012]

I'm actually surprised we've got a supporter of the bid on board.

That's great for the forum, but not if genuine criticisms are met with as the stock response.

So, GamesSL, sell your bid to us. Do what your bid team refused to do in India and tell us why Sri Lanks should be hosting the 2018 Games...

[LuigiVercotti]

I'm actually surprised we've got a supporter of the bid on board.

That's great for the forum, but not if genuine criticisms are met with as the stock response.

So, GamesSL, sell your bid to us. Do what your bid team refused to do in India and tell us why Sri Lanks should be hosting the 2018 Games...

Thank you Rob for positing a question that our deluded noob who started off with what...4 posts of the same topic. Admittedly whilst I may be too harsh on our new friend (and compadre to such other informed commentators such as JimJones and Arush Mittal) and it does surprise me how articulate and reasoned his arguments have been so far (blinded as I am by the hood that I donned when my Klan brethren declared me a Semi-Grand Kukla ), the bald bloody fact is a once tsunami ravaged town with a population on a par with Kalgoorlie or Whitby is trying to win the right to host the CGs when civil, political and economic divisions undermine so much of the national capability to support such a frivolous venture, plus their bid committee has all the demonstrable capabilities of a blind unidexter trying to push poop up hill whilst singing La Marseillaise in Demotic Greek. And when they are shown to be witless in their snark-hunt-like bid by not even fronting the Federation they and their blinkered supporters play the race card and try and demonstrate solidarity with a country that is at least 50 times larger but couldn't keep dogs crapping on athlete's beds before their own farcical games began.

And by the way, I attended the first and only Australia Games (held in 1985 in Melbourne) and I hate to tell you gamesSL but...shock horror we actually let people in who were not white. In fact I swore I saw a Pacific Islander compete in weightlifting...amazing hey

Here endeth the rant

[gamesSL]

I'm actually surprised we've got a supporter of the bid on board.

That's great for the forum, but not if genuine criticisms are met as the stock response.

So, GamesSL, sell your bid to us. Do what your bid team refused to do in India and tell us why Sri Lanks should be hosting the 2018 Games...

well i dont take that pathetic guy eusebius criticism as ''genuine criticisms'' he seem s to be having some kind of psychological problem with emerging nations well you could see that by his words. fair criticism is welcomed but not by talking BS or puting salt to sri lankas healing wounds.

i will continue to support 2018 sri lanka bid because we as a nation really need it.

[gamesSL]

You know, for a second, I thought we would get through this bid cycle without a resident psycho,but we have gamesSL!