COMMON WEALTH GAMES

XIX 2010

Project report submitted to the University of Delhi in partial fulfillment of the

requirement Degree of B.Com (H)

BY:

NAME:

ROLL NO.:

Department of Commerce

University Of Delhi

New Delhi

2010

\
COMMON WEALTH
GAMES
 2010

DECLARATION

I certify that the information contained in the project is an original work and fully based on my
understanding & it is not a copy from any source published.
I have taken information from internet, newspapers &journals in the form of facts, figures &
data.

The sources is mentioned at an appropriate place in the report and at the end of the report agree
to abide by the decision made by academic mentor & the teacher in charge in case it is found as a
work copy.

Signature of student

Name

Roll no.

Signature of mentor

Signature of teacher in-charge

Date

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel immense pleasure in taking the opportunity to express the sincere gratitude towards my
academic mentor for constant guidance & valuable advice throughout this project.
I would like to thanks the commerce department of , Delhi University for the constant
cooperation & management.

CONTENTS
1) INTRODUCTION
2) HISTORY OF THE GAMES
3) VENUE OF THE GAMES IN HISTORY &
FUTURE
4) COST
5) OTHER PREPARATIONS
6) CONCERNS & CONTROVERSIES
7) MEDALS WON
8) CORRUPTION
9) CVC REPORT
10)RESULTS
 INTRODUCTION
The commonwealth games are the one of the biggest sports carnival in the world.
It is played in every 4 years of gape. We can compare Commonwealth games to
Olympic Games.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games are the nineteenth edition of the

Commonwealth Games and this edition is scheduled to be held in New Delhi,
India between 3 October and 14 October 2010.

Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes

from the Commonwealth of Nations.

As well as many Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are
played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls, rugby sevens and
netball.

The Games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which
also controls the sporting program and selects the host cities. The host city is
selected from across the Commonwealth, with eighteen cities in seven countries
having hosted it.

The Commonwealth Games were inaugurated as the British Empire Games in

Hamilton, Ontario (Canada), in 1930, with 400 competitors representing 11
countries. Since then they have been celebrated on 14 other occasions and grown
considerably in status. The festival has undergone name changes that reflect the
growing political maturity of member countries, and the changing relationship of
Great Britain to its former empire. From 1930 to 1950, the games were known as
the British Empire Games; from 1954 to 1962 as the British Empire and
Commonwealth Games; from 1966 to 1974 as the British Commonwealth Games;
and since 1978 as the Commonwealth Games.
Objectives of the study

The broad objectives of the study are as follows:

 To study how common wealth games were conducted in India.

 To understand the cost system in this project.

 To examine the problem arouse in this whole event.

 To see how much development if Delhi has taken place.

Scope and Methodology

This project intends to provide a basic knowledge on common wealth games and events

taken place in Delhi. Further, the study also aims at understanding the inter-relationship between

cost and development. In other words impact of common wealth games on Delhi & its

developments with lots of corruption involved in it. The study is primarily based on secondary

data. The data has been collected from various published sources such as common wealth

websites on the internet, newspapers (Delhi Times and Times of India) and books. This has

been done to get an in depth understanding of day to day effect on city, its people, politics

and environment.

The following paragraphs present the history of games, transport, upcoming places of

games, number of events, medals won by nations, cost, concerns & controversies , corruption

and results.
 HISTORY OF the GAMES
The event was first held in 1930 under the title of the British Empire Games in

1)Hamilton

2) Ontario

3) Canada

The event was renamed as the British Empire and Common wealth Games in
1954, the British Commonwealth Games in 1970, and gained its current title in
1978. Only six teams have attended every Common wealth Games: Australia,
Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Australia has been the
highest achieving team for eleven games, England for seven and Canada for one.

There are currently 54 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and 71 teams

participate in the Games. The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom –
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – send separate teams to the
Commonwealth Games, and individual teams are also sent from the British Crown
dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man (unlike at the Olympic
Games, where the combined "Great Britain" team represents all four home
nations and the Crown dependencies). Many of the British overseas territories
also send their own teams

. In 1891, the Englishman John Astley Cooper (1858–1930) proposed an “Anglo-

Saxon Olympiad” and/or “Pan-Britannic Gathering” to celebrate industry, culture,
and athletic achievements among the English-speaking nations of the world
(including the United States). Then in 1911, as part of the “Festival of Empire”
coronation celebrations for George V (1865–

1936), an “Inter-Empire Sports Meeting” was held in London. Teams representing

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom competed,
with the Canadian team emerging victorious. The First British Empire Games were
held at Hamilton in 1930.
By 1930, some disenchantment surfaced at the perceived lack of sportsmanship
demonstrated at the Olympic Games and resentment at the domination of U.S.
athletes. The empire, too, was less of a force in international affairs. The prospect
of some more “private” competition was therefore appealing, and perhaps a way
of partly restoring some prestige. Sixteen countries were represented at London
in 1934. The games at Sydney in 1938 provided a happy event that contrasted
sharply with the “Nazi Olympics” in Berlin only 18 months earlier. Because
ofWorld War II a dozen years would pass before athletes of the empire could
meet again in friendly competition, in neighboring New Zealand.

The games at Vancouver in 1954 produced the Bannister-Landy “mile of the

century,” one of most dramatic moments in sports history, and heralded the
larger and more sophisticated spectacles of the modern era, now aided by air
travel and television. Cardiff, in 1958, attracted the largest assembly to date: 35
nations sent more than 1,100 athletes, ten world records were broken, and the
games’ record book was almost rewritten. But there were protest demonstrations
because South Africa’s team was believed to be selected “on the basis of color
rather than ability”; and these were the last games in which South Africa
competed until 1994.

No fewer than 15 world records were set in swimming alone at the 1966 games in
Kingston, as this quadrennial festival continued to provide Olympic-caliber
competition for Commonwealth athletes. More world records were set at
Edinburgh four years later,when the queen attended the games for the first time.
In Christchurch,New Zealand, in 1974, perhaps the greatest excitement came
when Filbert Bayi of Tanzania defeated New Zealander John Walker in the 1,500
meters (1,640 yards) in the new world record time of 3 minutes, 22.2 seconds.
The games at Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) in 1978 were threatened with a
boycott by African nations over the simmering issue of sporting contacts with
South Africa, particularly the rugby rivalry between New Zealand and South
Africa. The Commonwealth nations were committed to the Gleneagles Agreement
of 1977, which prohibited sporting contacts with the Republic of South Africa.
Although Nigeria still did not participate at Edmonton, diplomacy won the day
and allowed other African nations to compete in what has been described as one
of the finest Commonwealth celebrations.
 VENUE OF THE GAMES IN HISTORY &
FUTURE
I) Hamilton, Canada XIII) Edinburgh, Scotland

II) London, England XIV) Auckland, New Zealand

III) Sydney, Australia XV) Victoria, Canada

IV) Auckland, New Zealand XVI) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

V) Vancouver, Canada XVII) Manchester, England

VI) Cardiff, Wales XVIII) Melbourne, Australia

VII) Perth, Australia XIX) Delhi, India

VIII) Kingston, Jamaica XX) Glasgow, Scotland

IX) Edinburgh, Scotland

X) Christchurch, New Zealand

XI) Edmonton, Canada

XII) Brisbane, Australia

THE HUGE AMOUNT SPENDED ON
OUR GAMES OR ITS PREPARATION
COST
The total budget estimated for hosting the 19th Commonwealth is US$ 1.6 billion
and this amount excludes non sports related infrastructure development in the
city like airports,roads and other structures. This makes the 2010 Commonwealth
Games as the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever.

TRANSPORT
Delhi had to face a big problem during the games in term of there transportation.

*No Blue line.

*No Trucks.

A separate Lane dedicated to CWG your busy roads.

Many arrangements were made for the athletes and the visitors

The elaborate transport network, ensured best & fast movement of 7500
athletes, officials, referees and media persons throughout the multi-sport event.
Delhi Transport Corporation managed the transport along with Indian car
manufacturer Tata Motors (official sponsorers of CWG - 2010).
Many of the main busy roads were dedicated to the Common Wealth Games by
having a special lane which are meant only for CWG purpose.

More and more traffic restrictions are imposed for CWG opening ceremony. The
press release is given below

Restrictions on movement of General Traffic

 i)  From 6.00 A.M. to Midnight:  Bhishma Pitamaha Marg - from Lodhi Road to
Kotla Mubarakpur, both ways.

 ii) From 2.00 P.M. : Lodhi Road between Safdarjang Madrasa to Lodhi Road
flyover.

 iii) Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium Marg -  Mehar Chand Market to Lala Lajpat Rai

Marg.

 iv) MTNL Building road- Scope Complex Chowk to Kushak Nallah (iii) and (iv)
already closed.

 v) 2.30 P.M. to 6.30 P.M. :

a) NH-24 from Noida Mor flyover to Ring Road - Nizamuddin T-point.

b) Ring Road from Bhairon Road T-point to Ashram.

 vi) 8.00 P.M. to 1.00 A.M.

a) From Ring Road from Ashram to Bhairon Road T-point. 

b) NH-24 between Ring Road - Nizamuddin T-point to Noida Mor flyover.

 
 Other preparation
In preparation for an influx of English-speaking tourists for the Games, the Delhi
government is implementing a program to teach English, and the necessary skills
for serving tourists, to key workers—such as cab drivers, security workers,
waiters, porters, and service staff. In the two years prior to the Games 2,000
drivers were taught English. The program aims to teach 1,000 people English per
month in the hope of reaching all key workers by March 2010. In addition to
Delhi, the Indian Government plans to expand the program to teach people in
local tourist destinations in other parts of India.

To prepare for the energy-usage spike during the Games and to end chronic
power cuts in Delhi, the government is undertaking a large power-production
initiative to increase power production to 7,000 MW (from the current 4,500
MW). To achieve this goal, the government plans to streamline the power
distribution process, direct additional energy to Delhi, and construct new power
plants. In fact, the government has promised that by the end of 2010, Delhi will
have a surplus of power.

In addition to physical preparation, India will offer free accommodation for all
athletes at the Games Village, as well as free transport and other benefits, such as
a free trip to the famed Taj Mahal and a reserved lane for participants on selected
highways. The Games Village will house over 8,000 athletes and officials for the
Games. Indian states will train state police forces to handle tourist-related issues
and deploy them prior to the Games. A large-scale construction and
"beautification" project has resulted in the demolition of hundreds of homes and
the displacement of city dwellers—at least 100,000 of New Delhi’s 160,000
homeless people have removed from shelters, some of which have been
demolished. Bamboo screens have been erected around city slums to separate
visitors from the sights of the slums, a practice which human rights campaigners
have deemed dishonest and immoral.

The Delhi High Court is set to implement a series of "mobile courts" to be

dispatched throughout Delhi to relocate migrant beggars from Delhi streets. The
mobile courts would consider each beggar on a case-by-case basis to determine
whether the beggar should be sent back to his/her state of residence, or be
permitted to remain in government-shelters.
 Concerns and controversies
Several concerns were raised over the preparations of the Games and these
included excessive budget overruns, likelihood of floods in Delhi due to heavy
monsoon rains, infrastructural compromise, poor living conditions at the
Commonwealth Games Village, delays in construction of the main Games' venues,
the withdrawal of prominent athletes, widespread corruption by officials of the
Games' Organising Committee and possibility of a terrorist attack by militants.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi was criticized by several prominent

Indian politicians and social activists. One of the outspoken critics of the Games is
Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Indian Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports. In April
2007, Aiyar commented that the Games are "irrelevant to the common man" and
criticized the Indian government for sanctioning billions of dollars for the Games
even though India requires massive investment in social development programs.
In July 2010, he remarked that he would be "unhappy if the Commonwealth
Games are successful". Miloon Kothari, leading Indian expert on socio-economic
development, questioned the justification of spending billions of dollars on a 12-
day sports event "when 46% of India's children and 55% of women are
malnourished".

Concerns raised by Aiyar were echoed by several others in India. Initial concerns
about the 2010 Commonwealth Games included delays in completion of projects,
poor construction standards, corruption by Games' Organising Committee officials
and possibility of a terrorist attack. The Indian media also alleged that Games'
Organising Committee officials were involved in serious corruption and these
allegations included acceptance of bribe during the process of awarding
construction contracts for the Games' venues. The Commonwealth Games
Organising Committee on 5 August 2010 suspended T S Darbari (joint director in
the organising committee) and Sanjay Mahendroo (deputy director general in the
organising committee) following the report of the three-member panel which was
probing the financial irregularities related to the Queen's Baton Relay. Organising
Committee treasurer Anil Khanna resigned from the post in the wake of
allegations that his son's firm had secured a contract for laying synthetic courts at
a tennis stadium. On September 23, The Daily Telegraph UK showed photographs
taken of child labour working on the Games sites.] There was also multiple cases
of items being rented for the 45 days for more money than it would cost to
actually buy the item. In one such case, 72 golf carts were hired for 4.23 lakh
(US$ 9,602.1) each, when they could have been purchased for 1.84 lakh
(US$ 4,176.8) each.

Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), an apex Government of India anti-corruption

agency, released a report highlighting financial irregularities in up to fourteen
Games projects.] As per CVC report, in total 129 works in 71 organisations have
been inspected. The preliminary findings include — complete lack of involvement
of the city and the community at large, award of work contracts at higher prices,
poor quality assurance and management, and award of work contracts to
ineligible agencies.

Weeks before the start of the Games, Indian media outlets highlighted the poor
construction standards at several of the main Games venues. In late September
2010, the president of the Commonwealth Games Federation remarked that the
Games Village were far from completion and needed a "deep clean" and New
Zealand's chef de mission even claimed that the Games might not take place
given the amount of work to be done. The concerns came to media attention in
late September 2010 after media outlets began reporting on "filthy and unlivable
conditions" and taking photos of paan stains and excrement in living quarters at
the games village. Just a day after these remarks, a footbridge under construction
near the Nehru Stadium collapsed, injuring 27 and seriously injuring five. On 22
September 2010, some tiles at the wrestling stadium's false ceiling caved in;
however, there were no reported injuries. After the start of the games, a large
scoreboard at the rugby stadium toppled over, though before any competitions
had started in the stadium. Security concerns were highlighted by an Australian
TV crew from the Seven Network who claimed to have walked past security with a
suitcase containing a dummy bomb casing and its detonator on 15 September,
although the claim was later challenged as being 'bogus' and dishonest. Concerns
of a terrorist attack were also raised following a gun attack that took place outside
the Jama Masjid on 19 September 2010. However, the Indian authorities stated
that the shooting was a "one-off incident".

In the opening ceremony, the chairman of Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi,

faced further embarrassment when he was booed by the Indian spectators at the
start of his welcome speech. The crowd atmosphere otherwise was upbeat,
especially when they offered a warm applause to the neighboring Pakistan squad
despite the tense relations between India and Pakistan.
More than a dozen athletes from Australia and England, mainly swimmers, fell ill
in the initial days of the swimming competitions. Early suspicions rested on the
quality of water in the swimming pools of the SPM Complex, but other competing
teams, including South Africa, reported no such illness. Daily water quality tests
were being carried out on the water of the pools, as mandated by the event
standards. Additional tests were ordered after news of the illnesses, but they also
did not find anything amiss. The Australian team's chief doctor, Peter Harcourt,
ruled that the "chances of the [Delhi] pool being the cause of the problem is very
remote" and praised the hygiene and food quality in the Delhi Games Village. He
suggested that it could be a common case of Traveler's diarrhea (locally called
Delhi belly), or the Australian swimmers could have contracted the stomach virus
during their training camp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. English Olympic and
Commonwealth gold-medalist swimmer Rebecca Aldington said that the water
quality was absolutely fine.

In another incident, three Ugandan officials were injured when the car they were
travelling in hit a security wheel stopper at the Games village. The chairman of
the Games' Organizing Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, apologized to the Ugandan
High Commissioner to India for the freak car accident.

The negative pre-event publicity and heavy security presence played in part in low
spectator attendance during the initial events. However the numbers picked up as
the Games progressed.
Wales 2 7 10 19
Jamaica 2 4 1 7
Pakistan 2 1 2 5
Uganda 2 0 0 2
Bahamas 1 1 3 5
Sri Lanka 1 1 1 3
Nauru 1 1 0 2
Botswana 1 0 3 4

Saint Vincent and the

Grenadines 1 0 0 1

Trinidad and Tobago 0 4 2 6

Cameroon 0 2 4 6
Ghana 0 1 3 4
Namibia 0 1 2 3
Seychelles 0 1 0 1

Papua New Guinea 0 1 0 1

Mauritius 0 0 2 2
Tonga 0 0 2 2
Isle of Man 0 0 2 2

Bangladesh 0 0 1 1

Guyana 0 0 1 1

Saint Lucia 0 0 1 1
Zambia 0 0 0 0

Antigua And Barbuda 0 0 0 0

Barbados 0 0 0 0

Belize 0 0 0 0
Bermuda 0 0 0 0

British Virgin Islands 0 0 0 0

 
Brunei 0 0 0 0

Cook Islands 0 0 0 0

Dominica 0 0 0 0

Falkland Islands 0 0 0 0

Gambia 0 0 0 0
Gibraltar 0 0 0 0

Grenada 0 0 0 0

Guernsey 0 0 0 0

Jersey 0 0 0 0

Kiribati 0 0 0 0

Lesotho 0 0 0 0

Malawi 0 0 0 0

Maldives 0 0 0 0

Malta 0 0 0 0

Montserrat 0 0 0 0

Mozambique 0 0 0 0

Niue 0 0 0 0

Norfolk Island 0 0 0 0

Rwanda 0 0 0 0

Saint Helena 0 0 0 0
 Medals won by Indians

Gold Medals

1 India Men's - 10m Air Rifle (Pairs) Shooting 

2 India Women's - 25m Pistol (Pairs) Shooting 
3 SINGH Ravinder - Men's 60kg - Repechage Wrestling-Greco-Roman 
4 Sanjay - Men's 74kg - Repechage Wrestling-Greco-Roman 
5 KUMAR Anil - Men's 96kg - Repechage Wrestling-Greco-Roman 
6 NARANG Gagan - Men's 10m Air Rifle Shooting 
7 SAYYED Anisa - Women's 25m Pistol Shooting 
Silver Medals

1 CHANU NGANGBAM Soniya - Women's 48kg Category Weightlifting 

2 DEY Sukhen - Men's 56kg Category Weightlifting 
3 India Men's - 50m Pistol (Pairs) Shooting 
4 India Women's - 50m Rifle 3 Positions (Pairs) Shooting 
5 India Men's - Double Trap (Pairs) Shooting 
6 BINDRA Abhinav - Men's 10m Air Rifle Shooting 
7 SARNOBAT Rahi - Women's 25m 
Bronze Medals

1 ATOM Sandhya Rani Devi - Women's 48kg Category Weightlifting 

2 VS Rao - Men's 56kg Category Weightlifting 
 CORRUPTION
New Delhi - Indian officials have found evidence of corruption in construction
projects and illegal cash transfers for Delhi upcoming Commonwealth Games,
news reports said Saturday.

Allegations of widespread corruption in connection with India's biggest sporting

event in recent times -- due in October this year -- were reported on local TV
news and various dailies.

Officials of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), India's government watchdog

agency told the Times of India that construction quality certificates scrutinized in
16 Games-related projects had turned out to be "fake or suspect".

"It is a disturbing discovery. Fake certificates were routinely issued to pass

substandard work and material," a CVC official told the newspaper.

"We have not yet been able to gauge the financial implication but it is certain to
have led to very big gains for vendors and contractors," he said.

The event, to be held October 3-14 and involving 71 nations are the most
expensive Commonwealth Games in history, with a budget of two billion dollars.

Meanwhile, another corruption scandal about money being transferred from the
Commonwealth Games account to a little-known film company based in London
was reported by the Times Now newschannel on Saturday.

Senior Indian diplomats in the mission in London had written to Indian sports
ministry regarding the allegations of corruption about cash transfers of 247,469
pounds (388,142 dollars) to the AM Films company.

Responding to the slew of corruption allegations, India's Sports Minister MS Gill

said investigations were on and action would be taken against those found guilty.

"Yes, that is our duty...the basic duty. Me and the officers are working together,"
Gill said adding his focus was to ensure successful games.
If you discovered that they are paying Rs 9,75,000 in taxpayer money just to hire a
treadmill for a month and a half, would you not be exercised by it? 

If you are, you may want to rest a little and recover your poise. How about on a
chair being hired by Mr Kalmadi and his cohorts at Rs 8,378 apiece? Or how about
cooling yourself off with a drink from a 100-litre refrigerator which the Congress
politician and his colleagues are hiring for Rs 42,202 each? 

The deals for the chairs, treadmills and refrigerators are just a sampling of the
common-sense-defying contracts that have been awarded for Delhi 2010

CVC REPORT ON CORRUPTION

The CVC report has asked the CBI to register a corruption case against certain
MCD officials in connection with irregularities in a tender issued for a
Commonwealth Games project worth several crores. There are reports that the
Central Vigilance Commission has asked the CBI to probe certain transactions of
the Games.

Official sources said a letter of complaint has been sent to the CBI asking for a
probe into alleged criminal conspiracy by unknown MCD officials while granting
work for upgradation of street lighting in the national capital.

They said the contractor who had got the job after quoting the lowest amount for
the project was later allegedly allowed to change the figures to earn more profit.

However, the exact amount of profits made by the contractor could not be
ascertained but officials believe it may run up to Rs. 20 crore.

The CVC has found serious discrepancies like award of works at higher rates to
bidders, poor quality of construction and grant of work to ineligible agencies in
different Games-related construction works being carried out by various
departments in the capital.
As per the assessment report prepared by the CVC's Chief Technical Examination
Wing, large-scale procedural violations, including corruption, have been noticed in
16 projects.

The cost of the projects has been estimated to be about Rs. 2,000 crore.

Six of them are being done by Public Works Department (PWD), three by
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), two each by Central Public Works
Department (CPWD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), New Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC) and one by RITES, a Government of India Enterprise, the report
said.

The CTE Wing has made the assessment of construction projects following
complaint of alleged corruption in them.

The CVC has asked Chief Vigilance Officers to re-examine all the tenders and
procurement process related to the projects.

According to the report, "Almost all the organisations executing works for
Commonwealth Games have considered inadmissible factors to jack-up the
reasonable price to justify award of work at quoted rates citing urgent or
emergent circumstances. Despite higher rates, poor site management and delays
and quality compromises have been observed."
New Delhi: In an open attack on the UPA government, BJP president Nitin Gadkari
on Tuesday alleged that there was massive corruption in the preparations for the
just concluded Commonwealth Games held in Delhi. 

Claiming to have “concrete evidence” regarding misappropriation of funds by the

agencies that were incharge of the preparations, Gadkari claimed that it was the
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that had allowed the budget to shoot up to Rs
70,000 crore without questioning the need for cost escalation. 
 RESULTS
Everybody knows India host 19th Commonwealth games in Delhi. After lots of
negative publicity of this program, India makes them all wrong & gives more than
expectation. This post will give everything about this program at glance.

Chairman Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, MP, said, “The sporting extravaganza is ending but
I am sure the after taste will linger for a long time. Delhi 2010, which captured the
imagination of India and the world for almost two weeks, is drawing to a close.
But this is not the end. In fact, it is just the beginning.”

“For the athletes, it has been a life-changing experience. For India, it has been a
new beginning in sport. For the world, it has been evidence of what India can do
at the sporting stage. This is a new era for Indian sport, our athletes and our
sports loving people who embraced the Games as their own. All this made it what
it turned out to be – the largest and one of the most enjoyable Games ever,” he
said.

The chairman was all-praise Indian contingent that gave India its first ever three-
digit finish in the medals tally at number two, behind the Games’ giants Australia.
“The Indian contingent finished second by not only winning more Gold than in any
Commonwealth Games but also doubling the medals tally from the last time and
finishing with 101 medals. By winning medals in 12 disciplines, India made a
statement to the world that our sport in on the march. There was a great show of
national pride each time the Indian flag went up and the National Anthem was
played at a victory ceremony. And when three Indian flags were hoisted together
after the women swept gold, silver and bronze medals in discus throw, we
created the ultimate Chak De! Thanks to the Indian contingent’s showing in the
Commonwealth Games, we now have the opportunity to make sport central to
Indian life. I would like to congratulate the athletes, their coaches, support staff
and their National Federations for making this possible.”

Mr. Kalmadi thanked all the visiting athletes and other participants for their
support, saying, “We were rewarded when athletes from all the 71 nations and
territories turned up for the biggest celebration of sport in India.  All of them
came as friends and will now return as family.  Many won repeat medals and new
champions were born. Over 75 Commonwealth Games records were broken in
Delhi. Many athletes have told me that the Games Village is the best they have
been to.”

He acknowledged the selfless service of Delhi 2010 volunteers and workforce. “I

am immensely proud of the Organising Committee’s 4000-strong workforce,
including the senior management, for its collective ability to keep the chin up
under the most trying circumstances. It is admirable indeed that we stuck
together in the amazing journey in the face of a series of roadblocks that surfaced
frequently. We have learnt a lot and we continue to learn. To Delhi United, the
army of 22,000 volunteers, I would like to say that you have been fabulous. Each
one of you is a living example of the legendary hospitality that India extends to its
guests. Special thanks are also in order for the volunteers of Sahara India Pariwar
for their untiring efforts. ”

Recognising the services of Indian Military and the workers, he said, “The Defence
forces have been a big part of every aspect of the Games… Delhi 2010 and India
salutes you! I must make special mention of the thousands of construction
workers who got the facilities ready.”

“I must place on record the continuous guidance and involvement of the

Commonwealth Games Federation, especially its President Mr. Michael Fennell
and his team, the Indian Olympic Association and the Organising Committee’s
Executive Board.  Thank you for the faith and support,” he added.

Delhiites found a special mention in Chairman’s speech as he concluded his

speech saying, “To the city of Delhi which celebrated the Games like it were a
national festival, I will say thank you. You have been remarkable as the host,
showing patience when facilities were being upgraded. You have made the Games
and the world will remember you for it. To the proud citizens of India, Thank you,
Delhi! Thank you, India!”