Millions of dollars are being spent to get New Delhi ready for this October's Commonwealth Games.
Taxi and autorickshaw drivers are being taught English so that India can project a friendly face to the thousands of foreigners expected during the Games.
Slums are being moved, roads are being widened and a good number of local drivers are likely to be asked to leave their vehicles at home when the Games begin so that the traffic moves without a hitch.
But how prepared are the stars of the show? How ready are our athletes on whom the spotlight will be once the opening ceremony is over? Is everything being done to help them reach the peak in October?
“I think what we are doing is not enough. We have to do something more,” says P.T. Usha.
Abnormal trend
“We can't judge other athletes but I have a feeling that a lot of them just appear to ‘hold', ‘hold' their performances and then come up with a big show all of a sudden before a major championship,” says Usha, the former Golden Girl of Asian athletics who is now a respected coach.
“This is not normal. I don't see a normal or natural progression in many athletes, they are not consistent,” says Usha, the coach of Tintu Luka, the country's most promising athlete.
“They stay way below the mark for a major part of the season and argue that they had not started load work, but suddenly they come up with a big performance. That is very abnormal.”
Usha pointed to the progress of Jamaican sprinting sensation Usain Bolt before his stunning Olympic performance as a case for consistency.
“If you look at Bolt, even four or five months before a major championship, he is in the news with some top-notch performances at some meet or the other. That is missing here.”
However, Usha said that since the Commonwealth Games were being held at home this time, “we can get something.”
“Triple jumper Renjith Maheswary, the throwers and the 4x400m relay team are some of the athletes who may bring medals at the Commonwealth Games,” says Usha.
Chief national athletics coach Bahadur Singh also spoke on similar lines.
“Renjith Maheswary is a good medal prospect if he does above 17 metres. Women's discus, men's shot put, the 4x400 relay teams and the walkers are some of the others who can bring back medals. We can get a clearer picture in a couple of months,” he said.
Strangely, many of our top athletes suffer a shocking slump in form at major meets after raising hopes with sparkling performances in national championships.
Strange happenings
But stranger things are happing at national camps, reveal coaches.
“One athlete was missing from the national camp for nearly two months. Nobody knew where he went and why,” said a national coach. “Sometimes, a few athletes return with big muscles.”
Even the doping checks at national meets do not assure you much.
When asked to provide a urine sample by the Anti-Doping Agency at the recent National Open in Kochi, one athlete said she had lost one of her shoes and went in search of them.
A stricter system should be in place to stop the cheats.
