“You are a nation of over a billion people and your ability to organize will be on test during the Commonwealth Games (CWG).” So said Dr. Rogge. Who is this Dr. Rogge and who is the “You” in his statement above and what is he referring to exactly? Dr. Jacques Rogge is the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), “you” refers to India and the thing that he was talking about was India’s probable yet unofficial bid to host the Olympic Games in 2020. So people, what do you think? Sports India rising? Twenty One years after it withdrew from the race to host 1992 Olympics, India is back, maybe with a bang.
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The Indian Olympic Bhawan was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Mr. Singh. Everyone witnessed him utter the words, “The advancement of Olympic movement is the advancement of healthy youth.” Well said sir. However, it needs to be well done as well. As said by Dr. Rogge above, it’s going to be a test of wit for India in the upcoming Delhi CWG. We are all confident enough of Mr. Suresh Kalmadi and believe that he will burn the mid-night oil to give the world the best experience possible on Indian soil, despite the corruption charges and controversies hovering over the Indian Olympics Association (IOA). The Delhi CWG would be a good platform for India to use the infrastructure developed for the event for laying the foundation for bidding in the Olympics 2020 (the bidding will start in 2013). India, thus, will have almost a good 3 years to make its way to be counted among the top bidders and if God so wills, maybe be the host as well.
What the IOA needs to know and maybe it knows to some extent, is that the IOC General Assembly assesses the bidding cities’ ability to stage high level, international multi-sport events and their ability to organize quality Olympic Games against a set of 16 technical assessment criteria which include the Olympic Games’ concept and legacy, political and economic structure, legal aspects and guarantees, customs and immigration formalities, venues, transport and accommodation. In view of the fact that India recently lost the bid to host the 2014 Asian Games to the South Korean city of Incheon, Mr. Suresh Kalmadi and his team will have to face rough weather to turn India’s bid into a successful one.
India has the expertise, tools and manpower – in other words, everything that is needed for construction of world class infrastructure. However, infrastructure alone is not the sole criterion to host the most prestigious tournament of our times. The drive for organizing the event needs to be infused right from the minds of public to the upper echelons of the IOA. Having a marvelous sports complex is a futile effort when set against the backdrop of untidy roads, disheveled traffic, lack of integrity, absence of general awareness and inadequate monetary obligations in funding talent. After all, winning medals is an integral part of hosting an inherently successful sports event. I have seen two big events being organized in Hyderabad – the World Snooker Championship and the World Badminton Championship. The tournaments might have been well-organized, but the public had to suffer in terms of diverted traffic leading to severe traffic jams. This, somehow, quells the very spirit of the sport in the minds of people and they become deliberately oblivious to such events. To state the obvious, an event cannot be termed successful without the support of the home crowd. Hence, better organization of events without putting the comfort of the hoi polloi at stake is imperative and needs to be given serious consideration by the IOA while bidding.
So let us hope that the Delhi CWG overcomes all the allegations and proves to be a fantastic and remarkable experience for the participants, thereby laying the foundation for full throttle preparations for bidding in the Olympics 2020 in terms of technological advancements, infrastructure, ambience at the venues, spirited environment of the host city, organization of the entire event and of course, grooming the Indian talent pool.
