Hindustan Times
CWG glory: For whom?
Raghav Sikka
The Delhi Games have been a success and a disaster for various different reasons.
Before the Games had begun, it looked as if things were in a real bad shape but once they started after a spectacular opening ceremony, it seemed as if the Games would be run rather smoothly. But did they? If we let the focus be on sports, with 31 gold medals and a clean sweep in women’s discus throw for the first time in 52 years, Indian sports stars have created history this October 2010.
Do you believe it has been home advantage that has benefited us in achieving such a high medal count? Are we on the verge of becoming a sporting powerhouse and have simply underestimated the strengths of Indian athletes until now? Why is that only now after so many decades that India has won its first gold medal in athletics? Well whatever may be the reasons, I am proud of the fact that our nation is finally excelling in multiple sports on the world stage.
Currently, we are at the 2nd position in the war for gold medals between India, England and Canada. Not only have we dominated the shooting competitions but have also done extremely well in wrestling, boxing, tennis and badminton. The gold medal won by Somdev in men’s tennis is a fine example of this talented Indian contingent that has produced the very best performance the country has ever witnessed.
Nevertheless the big question still remains: Will India retain its spot in the top 3? It’s all to watch out for in the last 2 days of the Delhi Games. In spite of all the sporting glory that has won the hearts of millions, the general public has simply not been able to enjoy the sports and cheer for their heroes due to the unorganized state of affairs in the ticketing department. Where in the world are you required to fill out a form before buying a ticket for a sporting
event? I can understand the tight security measures in and outside the stadiums, but a verification form to be filled out before purchasing is simply an absurd way of preventing terrorism. Clearly it is a turn off for anyone hoping to see the Games. In addition one cannot even buy a single memento as the official merchandise for the CWG 2010 has been banned due to security concerns in stadiums.
Furthermore the ticket box offices and Fast Trax outlets both confirm that all tickets for major events have been sold out. This is a blatant lie as if the tickets were actually sold out, why is that we see on television that not even half of the stadiums’ capacity is full? Reports suggest that thousands of tickets were given to kabaadiwalas (junk dealers) to further sell as waste paper. The very least the OC could have done is provide a better system to allocate tickets to the masses. After all who did they organise such a grand event for?
(21 votes, average: 4.57 out of 5)
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