Yes, this Scot is among the 'oldest' attractions at the Games. Scotland's lawn bowls player Willie Wood is the oldest competitor at the Delhi Games. "I started bowling at the age of 12 and I have no plans to stop any time soon. Never say never," said Woods, eyeing a medal in the triples category. His last CWG medal came at the 1990 Auckland Games when he won a gold. "This is my eighth Commonwealth Games," the MBE award winner, speaking about his record feat, told TOI. "The first was in 1974. Wood has also competed in nine World Championships, grabbing 15 medals, as compared to his collection of four CWG medals.
Following reports that tickets of several Commonwealth Games events were sold to scrap dealers as waste paper, the Organizing Committee Friday said those were "unsold tickets of previous events." "The tickets which were given to scrap dealers were unsold tickets of previous events," said an official of the Organizing Committee.
Media reports Friday pointed out irregularities in ticket sales.
According to the CWG ticket help line, all the tickets for finals of badminton, hockey and tennis matches have already been sold out. Even the Rs.750 tickets for the closing ceremony are sold out and only high-end tickets of Rs.4,000, Rs.20,000 and Rs.50,000 are available.
Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi has apologized for an incident that left three Ugandan officials injured at the Commonwealth Games Village, OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot said Friday. "Kalmadi has sent a letter to the High Commissioner and chef de mission apologizing for whatever has happened," Bhanot said. Uganda's chef de mission William Tumwine, administrative officer Iren Matovu and press attache Juliet Ochong were injured when a "tire killer" — a spiked instrument meant to demobilize intruding vehicles — malfunctioned all of a sudden at one of the Games Village gates. While Matovu suffered serious eye injuries and required extensive facial stitching, Tumwine suffered a head injury. Ochong had a whiplash injury.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has accepted the unconditional apology tendered by chief of the Pakistani contingent at the Commonwealth Games over his decision to carry the national flag instead of giving it to a weightlifter at the inaugural ceremony. Dawn quoted sources as saying that while accepting the apology, the prime minister directed the sports ministry to take measures to avoid such incidents in future. Weightlifter Shujauddin Malik was reportedly supposed to carry the flag and lead the national contingent into the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium Oct 3. But at the last moment, chef de mission Muhammad Ali Shah decided to carry it.
To encourage sports talent in the country, the government will bear the education cost of those students who win medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said here Friday."As a token of appreciation and a gesture toward encouraging sports talent among students of all categories, the cost of education of all students who are medal winners in the Commonwealth Games would be borne by the government for the entire duration of their studies," said a statement by the HRD ministry quoting Sibal. The expenditure for college going students, including those in professional colleges, would be borne by the University Grants Commission (UGC) while the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) would bear expenditure of those currently in schools.
The Delhi Traffic Police Friday issued 92 challans to vehicles for violating the Commonwealth Games lane restrictions, police said. Twenty-four notices were issued and two vehicles were also impounded for entering the restricted lane. Till Thursday, 1,707 challans were issued, out of which 1,437 were issued on the spot and 270 were sent through notifications. The Games lane violators are imposed a fine of Rs.2.000.
The media — both Indian and Western — are far too critical of the Games and do not see the plenty of good things that are happening, say the young Games's volunteers. Near the Talkatora Stadium, the venue of the swimming events, a footbridge escalator and lifts were not working. Some volunteers even tried to get them working. But then another said: "Don't try to repair it. If some white man gets stuck, it will land us in trouble. Leave it like that."
