Game Over!

Written by Muhammad Omar Iftikhar • November 2010

9-1 The nineteenth edition of the Commonwealth Games, called as the 2010 Commonwealth Games or CWG 2010 were held in New Delhi, India from October 3 to 14, 2010. Although India has hosted the Asian Games twice, in 1951 and 1982, the CWG 2010 was the biggest multi-sporting event of the country. These Games were also the largest ever to be held, comprising 285 sporting events contested amongst 6,081 athletes. This years Games were also significant for they were hosted in Asia for the second time; Malaysia was the first Asian country to host the Games in 1998.

Cost
The CWG 2010 proved to be a huge financial burden on India’s economy and was estimated to be the most expensive Games in history, with costs touching 300 billion Indian Rupees ($6.8 billion). The Aerostat, flown in the opening ceremony, cost 70,000,000 Rupees and the equipment used for the laser show in the closing ceremony was worth 150,00,000 Rupees.

Games Village
In 2007, after India got the hosting rights for CWG 2010, the construction of the Games Village commenced; the contract was given to the UAE based Emaar Properties. Situated along the river Yumna, spanning on an area of 63.5 hectares, the residential zone of the Games Village had 1618 fully air-conditioned rooms with a capacity of 8000 guests. The different zones of the Village consisted of shops, internet cafes, village bar, TV lounge, guest pass centre, VIP area, Chefs de Mission Meeting Hall, mayor’s office, media centre, training area, vehicles check point and the security command centre. For transportation purposes the Internal Village Shuttle and the Bus Service was used while customized carts and golf carts were used for commuting inside the Games Village.

Opening Ceremony
Like any other multi-sporting event, the opening ceremony captivates the audience and the opening ceremony of CWG 2010 was no different. But before the games could begin, there were eyebrow raising concerns regarding insufficient planning and preparations for the event. Mismanagement prevailed which were the highlights more than the event itself. But once the colorful and culturally rich opening ceremony was underway, it overshadowed all post-Game botches and disappointments.
The guests of honor included Indian President Pratibha Patil, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; Prince Charles, representing Queen Elizabeth II as Head of Commonwealth; President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed; President of Nauru, Marcus Stephen; Monaco’s Prince Albert II and the Governor General of New Zealand, Sir Anand Satyanand. The venue sparkled from the inside like a liquid crystal and from the outside; it resembled like a shimmering flower. The ceremony, which was a combination of lights, color and energy showcased music and traditional Indian folk dances. The event concluded with A. R Rahman singing “Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto”, theme song of the CWG 2010. The prime attraction of the opening ceremony was the Aerostat, the largest helium filled balloon in the world, gently suspended in the air projecting the views from the venue on its circular outer part.

Mascot
Every mega sports tournament has a mascot, and the mascot representing the CWG 2010 was Shera; the name was derived from the Indian word ‘Sher’, which is interchangeably used for tiger and lion. It personified a character having positive energy, proud of his national heritage and a fierce competitor who played with integrity. Shera also reflected moral values such as charisma, intelligence, power and majesty, had a friendly nature, encouraged people to have fun, which was also reflected in the motto of CWG 2010, “Come out and play.”

Venues
Twelve venues around New Delhi were chosen to hold sport events for CWG 2010. The main stadium for CWG 2010, used for the opening and the closing ceremony apart from many sporting events, was Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium which held events in athletics, lawn bowls and weightlifting. The other venues were Yamuna Sports Complex (archery and table tennis), Thyagaraj Sports Complex, (netball), Talkatora Sports Complex, (boxing), Siri Fort Sports Complex, (badminton and squash), R.K. Khanna Tennis Complex (tennis), Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium (hockey), Indira Gandhi Sports Complex (cycling, gymnastics, wrestling), Dr. S.P. Mukherjee Swimming Stadium (aquatics), Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range (shooting), Delhi University (rugby) and CRPF Shooting Range (shooting).

Sporting Events
Athletes competed in seventeen various sports during the CWG 2010. These sports included aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling. Seventy-one nations participated in the CWG 2010 where Rwanda made their debut after they were awarded the status as a Commonwealth member in 2009. Fiji, on the other hand, was not allowed to participate as its membership was suspended by the Commonwealth due to its political instability.

Medalists
The participating athletes won a total of 828 medals which included 272 gold, 274 silver and 282 bronze. Australia won the highest number of 75 gold medals. It won 55 silver and 48 bronze, winning a total of 177 medals. The second country with the highest gold medals was India with 38. It won 101 medals including 27 silver and 36 bronze. England was at the second spot but on the last day of CWG 2010, India’s gold medal win moved England down at the third spot with 37 gold medals. Although England won 143 medals including 60 silver and 46 bronze, but they fell one gold medal short, making them the Games’ third place winners. Pakistan, however, ranked at the seventeenth spot with 5 medals including 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze. Pakistan’s two gold medalists were wrestlers Azhar Hussain and Mohammad Inaam; the silver medal was also won by Azhar Hussain while boxers Muhammad Waseem and Haroon Iqbal won the bronze medals.

Closing Ceremony
The eleven day sporting extravaganza which was the top sporting news around the world came to an end on October 14, 2010. Once the sporting events were complete, spectators gathered at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium under the Delhi summer sky to witness the closing ceremony of CWG 2010, a two-and-a-half hour spectacular. The CWG 2010 was officially closed by Britain’s Prince Edward, who was accompanied by the Chairman of the Organizing Committee Suresh Kalmadi and the Indian Prime Minister.

The closing ceremony featured a martial arts show, children dance, performance by military bands and a laser show which was the highlight of the night. Singers Shankar Mahadevan and Sukhwinder Singh made spectators dance on their feet with hit numbers such as ‘Koi Kahe Kehta rahe’, ‘Ibn Batuta’ and ‘Chak De India.’ The venue was shimmering like a giant crystal with mesmerizing lights, designs, colors and fireworks, which illuminated the night and mesmerized everyone. Shankar Mahadevan ended the night by his number “Where’s the part tonight?” The party was certainly loud and happening in New Delhi as CWG 2010 ended on a high note despite some planning and preparation mishaps which thought to have jeopardized the event. Four years later the Scots would be giving a warm welcome as CWG 2014 would be held in Glasgow, Scotland. But as far as CWG 2010 were concerned, it’s safe to say that New Delhi certainly played well!