So, sport is the biggest spoilsport. So,we have again ended up as India Whining when a crouching Shera is poised at the starting blocks. So, national pride has been sold to the highest bidder. So what The CWGs serial controversies have led to parliamentary wrestling,all-round boxing and a media indignation which has pole-vaulted to new decibels.But thats no reason to hang our heads and our officials,or even to shrug and say,We are like that con-ly.
On the contrary, all the tarnished run-up to the Commonwealth Games is shining evidence of the average Indians inborn ability to gain from pain.See,without even buying a ticket,we have grabbed a ringside seat to a spectacle featuring the CWGs most sought-out events.The 400m hurdles has raised the biggest roar,uproar,and downroar.Forget Australias Brendan Cole and Tristan Thomas,or our own Joseph Abraham (not to be confused with John,who too scorches the tracks).The record set by the pre-CWG hurdles has posted a challenge that the worlds star athletes will find difficult to match.
These hurdles have varied from the tardy to the shoddy.Tender-loving contractors have been lavished on the venues and the routes to them.In suspense,we wait to see who will make it to the finishing line.And,when they march up to the podium for their spoils,will it withstand the weight of their pockets.Sheila Aunty says that the money spent will provide long-term sports infrastructure.Others say that the stadia are not built to last;they are just the last to be built.
If hurdles get the gold for pre-event paisa vasool,then the silver must surely go to track and field as a whole.Contractors with the worst track record are having the biggest field day.Usain Bolt will not be there,but hopefully all the other ordinary bolts will be.No doubt prevails over the presence of nuts or of
those determined to screw the games.They range from Mani Shankar Ire to T S Darbari.The former minister is in line for a medal in the shooting-mouth-off event ever since he declared that he would be most unhappy if the Games were a success.The latter gentleman is deputy director of the Organising Committee itself.He has made his mark in two categories: a variation of Roman rings and the 1,70,000-km relay.The sports ministry has sought Darbaris ouster from the OC because,one,he is allegedly the undeclared owner of a Rs 28-lakh,diamond-studded platinum ring seized by the Kerala Customs and,two,he is linked to the Queens Baton Relay scam,the first big-ticket money-spinning event of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The ED later sniffed out the dope on two other shady payouts of over Rs 50 crore,but the 4,50,000-sterling pound deal between a bantamweight UK company and the OC retains top billing.This quicksilver game,in which a two-bit van-hire operator turns into a right royal video-filmmaker,has become so riveting that the International Olympics Committee is said to be making a frantic bid to include it in the 2012 London Olympiad.
The bronze medal for pre-CWG paisa vasool is in dispute.Rugby is a strong contender,with stunning displays of passing the buck and free kick-backs.However,under-the-table tennis and bad-men-ton are giving it a run for,and with,its money. Of course my list for the pre-CWG medallists is not the last word.It has already been gunned down by those who say that the Games-to-be have become a full-bore event.
Alec Smart said: Why is there so much fishy stuff going on in the Sports Ministry Because its headed by a Mr Gill.
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