They sang and danced well into the night on Thursday as the curtains came down on the 12-day Commonwealth Games that ended in an unprecedented medal haul and number two position for India in the medals tally.
In what turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller in the women's singles final of the badminton competition, top-seeded Saina Nehwal, the rising world star, snatched a three-game victory over Malaysian Mew Choo Wong, to push India up to the second position, just one gold medal ahead of England.
India eventually more than doubled its medals tally of the previous Games, in Melbourne, by taking 101 medals including 38 golds. The country had finished fourth in 2002 and 2006. That was a fact which gained prominent mention, and a round of applause from the 60,000-strong crowd, in the long-winding speech that Organising Committee (OC) Chairman Suresh Kalmadi made at a colourful and spectacular closing ceremony.
Colour, spontaneous gaiety and bonhomie marked the ceremony just as they do at all major multidiscipline games. As the athletes marched into the stadium in mixed batches, for one last moment, screaming, shouting and saying “thank you India,” there was relief all around that the Games had gone off without an incident.
‘Agni', a segment depicting the martial arts of the country, a combination of military bands that exited by playing saare jehan se acha to thunderous ovation, ‘Vande Maataram', a presentation of colour by some 2010 schoolchildren, and ‘music of universal love' marked the cultural presentation.
“A truly memorable celebration” was how Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell described the Games. He praised the OC under Mr. Kalmadi for having successfully overcome the challenges, and thanked the Union and Delhi governments.
Prince Edward, on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, declared the Games closed, and called upon the sportspersons of the Commonwealth to assemble in Glasgow, Scotland, in four years' time.
