India had won the right to host the XIX Commonwealth Games in Delhi. This was to be a prestigious opportunity to show the world that India had arrived, just as China had done a couple of years ago, buy hosting the hugely successful Olympics at Beijing.
The Games are allotted almost 6 years before the event and the host country has a clear 5 years to prepare. It’s probably the 2nd largest event after the Olympics with 71 participating countries. Preparations were to start in 2005. And they did. Unfortunately the pace was not sufficient. And the plans did not go as expected. There probably was no Plan B.
In the build up on the final stretch particularly in the final 3 months, there was serious concerns expressed. By the media, the opposition parties, the participating countries and even detractors within the government. To add to the problems of the Organizers, things started going from bad to worse. An athlete was injured when a tile came off in the new swimming pool, in another new stadium a part of a roof caved in. To add to the woes, associated facilities faced major issues. A bridge collapsed injuring several. And the Gods weren’t kind either. Unexpectedly heavy rains resulted in residential quarters in the CWG Games village and even some stadia getting flooded.
There was an outcry for the Prime Minister to get involved. And finally with 1 month to go, and it seemed like there was no hope, the complete government machinery got into action. And when the mammoth government machinery wants to get something done, nothing can stop it. And this time was no exception.
Quarters got ready on the day the athletes arrived. Stadia got completed on the day of the practice events.
Several countries had threatened to pull out. Several high profile athletes had already pulled out. But finally as D-Day approached, countries started arriving. And finally when the count was made, all 71 countries made it. A great relief. And the 1st major positive of the CWG Games, Delhi.
And finally D-Day arrived. Oct. 3, 2010. The opening ceremony. It was a magnificent ceremony. And went without a hitch. It surpassed all expectations. And was a auspicious beginning to the Games. The next 11 days were equally good. All the stadia and facilities turned out to meet international standards. The athletes were happy with both the training facilities as well as the competition. Several records were broken.
The icing on the cake was the performance of the Indian athletes. By the penultimate day, India with 36 gold medals was just 1 gold behind England and competing for the 2nd place. Australia with 70+ golds was way ahead of everybody else. During the 10 days of competition leading up to this day, the race for 2nd was being fought hard and was switched several times. Sometimes England was ahead. And then India would forge ahead, till India once again took the lead. On the final day, India was in a chance to win 3 golds and coincidentally so was England. To come in 2nd India had to win at least 2 more golds than England. If both tied with the same no. of golds, then England would be 2nd by virtue of their superior silver and bronze medals. This was turning out better than a T20 cricket match or even a Bollywood thriller.
And finally the final day. England started badly with their mixed doubles pair losing the finals. India had hope. India opened the day well with India’s badminton double pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa winning gold. The score 37 golds each.
And then the much awaited hockey finals. The Indian team was all but out and came back strongly to best Pakistan 7-4 and then beat England in a penalty shoot out in the semi-finals. The opponent was the highly fancied Australia who had won every single Commonwealth hockey gold, since the sport was introduced 3 editions earlier. The match was a 1 sided affair. Half-time 4-0. Full-time 8-0. Great score-line. Unfortunately we were on the wrong side. But then, the silver lining was the silver medal. India’s 1st hockey medal in the Commonwealth Games.
The English have always been a kind and gentlemanly nation. And they obliged by not winning either of the 2 gold opportunities. It all boiled down to the Badminton Women’s finals. India’s favorite sports woman Saina Nehwal. But then she lost the 1st set. And was trailing in the 2nd. At match point, we were on the verge of performing once again, the great Indian trick. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But Saina was the modern Indian. She fought back. For the first time in her career, she came back from match point down to win the set. And the next set and match. Get India the 38th Gold. And the 2nd position. With a record 101 medals, India had achieved both their stated goals at the beginning of the Games. Come in second. And get over 100 medals.
Inquiries into corruption, misappropriation of funds, and all kinds of charges will be investigated by various authorities, commissions, and committees. And maybe we’ll be surprised by actually having responsibility and accountability fixed. But that maybe expecting a miracle.
Notwithstanding all of that the Indian athletes have shown that in spite of all of their limitations, they could perform. And excel. Indian sport had arrived.
p.s.: You can view the final medal tally and other information about the CWG Games at : http://www.cwgdelhi2010.org/
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