The Indian tri-colour was on Thursday hoisted at the Asian Games Village in the presence of the Chef-de-Mission Adille Sumariwala, a day before the opening ceremony of the sporting extravaganza at the main stadium is scheduled to take place.
Former sprinter Sumariwala, IOA vice-president Tarlochan Singh and more than 50 competititors, including the women’s hockey squad, was present when the Indian flag was hoisted along with those of five other countries/region -- Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Chinese Taipei and Palestine.
Sumariwala, while speaking to reporters ahead of the ceremony, said that the Indian contingent members were quite satisfied with the accommodation though it was a bit cramped.
As per accomodation, seven athletes are sharing three-bedroom apartments with two washrooms. According to one of the officials accompanying the contingent, the much-maligned Commonwealth Games in Delhi had much better arrangements for the athletes.
The athletes, who reached in first batch were initially having problems with food but Sumariwalla said that it has been sorted out to some extent.
“They complained that they were not getting Indian food and it has been rectified to some extent, for example dal is being served,” said Sumariwala.
Sumariwalla also exuded confidence that the Indian contingent would better its show in Guangzhou but did not want to predict the medal count.
“We will do better than that but I can’t say how many medals we will win,” were his remarks on the subject.
In 2010, the total medals scooped by the Indian contingent were 65, comprising 14 gold, 17 silver and 34 bronze a month after a record haul of 101 medals, including 38 gold in the CWG held in New Delhi to finish second behind Australia.
The sizeable heist in Guangzhou piloted the country to a highly creditable sixth spot on the medals table which was topped by hosts China with a staggering haul of 199 gold medals.
The sixth-place finish in Guangzhou was India’s best in Asian Games history after the fifth spot it grabbed when India last hosted the pan-Asian sports spectacle in 1982 at New Delhi.
Sumariwala also said that the archery team had checked into the Games Village just as he was leaving for the flag hoisting ceremony and they were pretty confident of doing well.
“The archers are very confident they will do well. They have just come and I talked to them. The boxing team is coming tomorrow or day after, I am not sure.”
Although Leander Paes has confirmed that he is not playing Asian Games (he has already signed for Kuala Lumpur ATP event), the Chef-de-Mission seemed short on information.
“So far I have no information. Sania Mirza is coming and Saina Nehwal is already here. That’s all the information I have,” Sumariwala said.
Sumariwalla also didn’t reveal much as to which athlete will get the honour of being the flag-bearer of the contingent during the march-past on Friday.
“Every minute, there’s a change,” the Chef-de-Mission decided to keep the cards close to his chest.
