As the man who has remained the face of the Commonwealth Games all along, the Organising Committee (OC) Secretary-General, Lalit Bhanot is a contented man today.
With enough reason too as the Delhi Games are already being recognised as a success. Having spent the better part of the last five years overlooking its preparations, it has been an arduous journey for Bhanot and his big team.
“Frankly, I think we have delivered and that too in style,” said Bhanot about how he rated the Games, in a chat with The Hindu , amidst his busy schedule on Thursday.
“Though a lot was made against us and we were left to face several problems on a day-to-day basis, the most important thing which we did not forget was that these Games should be built around the athletes. And having interacted with athletes and officials through the last fortnight frequently, I am happy that they are now prepared to go back home with pleasant memories of their short stay in Delhi,” he said.
He rated the ability of the OC to stick to competition schedules within the time-frame in 17 disciplines as another major point that contributed to the success of the Games.
Asked about the positive factors which led to the success of the Games, Bhanot said that the facilities at the athletes village should get mention first. “We are yet to receive a complaint from anyone of the over 7000 people who have lived there for the last three weeks or so. The food that was given to them was of truly international standard. Transporting facilities for the athletes and officials, I think, really went off very well”.
Drawbacks
About the drawbacks that he had noticed, he said the OC lacked enough people who had the experience of managing things as required. He, however, added that now the country had a lot of people who would be fully geared towards meeting any challenge in hosting a big sports event.
Bhanot said he was worried about the rains that led to several time delays.
The delays in construction of several stadia also led to delay in temporary overlays being put in place. “It could have been much better had we been able to take over venues much earlier.”
He did not agree fully with the suggestion that the lack of co-ordination among various agencies was there for all to see. “It is true that we did face a lot of problems as we were dealing with a lot of people. It was only natural as most of these people lacked the exposure of having seen such major events or having worked for such big events.”
Asked whether the negative publicity in the media hurt him and the rest of the OC, Bhanot said it would have been helpful had the media adopted a more positive approach. “But, I don't think it made a big impact on anyone of us in top management of the OC. However, it did slow down the workforce and motivating them was a big task in itself.”
Bhanot expressed his happiness at the performance of the Indian teams and the record medal haul that the home contingent had won. He thanked the Union Government and the Sports Authority of India for having pumped in a lot of money (Rs 678 crore) for the preparation of the teams.
“What will ever remain etched in memory will be the great show put by our athletes in various disciplines. It is indeed a great feel-good factor,” he said.
