SPORTS

IOA pursuing Afro-Asian issue vigorously
M S Unnikrishnan

New Delhi, November 9
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary-general Randhir Singh has been vigorously pursuing the matter of hosting the inaugural Afro-Asian Games in Delhi from March 24 to December 2, 2002 with Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Uma Bharti as he strongly feels that the Games can now be held with a budget of Rs 20 crore, as all the infrastructure work has been completed for a sum far less than anticipated.

Randhir Singh, who is also the newly-elected member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has used his clout to get fresh dates from the international

federations, the Olympic Council of Asia, of which he is the secretary-general and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).

Randhir feels that there should be no hindrance in holding the games in March-April next year, as those dates are free from any major international commitments. By then, the Winter Olympic Games in the Salt Lake City and the South Asian Federation Games in Pakistan would have been completed.

Ms Uma Bharti had announced recently that she needed a few more days to consider the fresh dates secured by the IOA for the Afro-Asian Games.

The construction and other major works in preparation of the Afro-Asian Games have been completed for Rs 5 crore, 11 lakh and 21712. Out of the said amount, Rs 12 lakh was spent on TA, DA, accommodation and food for hosting the meeting of the organising committee. Rs 3 crore has been given to the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) for refurbishing the hotel rooms, and as advance for hotel booking. ITDC has spent only a fraction of that amount, and the rest, amounting to over Rs 2.5 crore, will be returned to the Government.

The Government has also asked CMC to return the Rs 30 lakh it had been given for computerisation of the Games facilities. In fact, the actual expenses, all put together, would not exceed Rs 3.75 crore. So Randhir Singh is confident that the actual conduct of the Games would not cost more than Rs 20 crore, which should be music to the ears of the mandarins of the Sports Ministry.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly of the IOA will be held at the Habitat Centre in Delhi on November 18. The IOA wanted to hold the meeting in Ludhiana on November 18, but the National Games Organising Committee expressed its inability to play host to the meeting. In fact, the top brass of the IOA are not even sure that they would be provided with accommodation and cars during the National Games.

Shivaji Stadium turf ready for action
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, November 9
The newly-laid synthetic hockey turf at the Shivaji Stadium will be inaugurated by New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) chairman Subhash Sharma at 3.15 p m tomorrow.

Delhi XI take on Uttar Pradesh XI in the opening match of the Nehru Hockey Tournament, which will also mark the baptism of the new hockey turf. The Nehru Hockey Tournament has been advanced this year by four days, due to the National Games in Punjab, scheduled to start at five venues in Punjab on November 19.

The return of hockey action to the compact, renovated Shivaji Stadium is a welcome augury for the game, as the venue attracts a large number of hockey fans, unlike the National Stadium, where watching hockey is no pleasure

The intimate feeling that Shivaji Stadium provides, is missing at the National Stadium.

The NDMC has laid the new hockey turf at the Shivaji Stadium at a cost of over Rs 1.5 crore. The immaculate looking new turf should enliven the action in the Nehru Hockey this year.

Verbruggen to chair Beijing Olympics meet
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, November 9
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Dr Jacques Rogge, has decided to appoint Mr Hein Verbruggen as chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

An IOC member in the Netherlands since 1996 as president of an International Federation, Mr Verbruggen chaired the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2008 Olympic Games, from September 2000 to July 2001.

According to information available with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) here, the IOC president has declared that “Hein Verbruggen has all the qualities needed to chair the Coordination Commission. His experience as chairman of the Evaluation Commission and his knowledge of the Olympic Movement make him the ideal person to accompany Beijing in its preparation for the Olympic Games in 2008,” Dr Rogge added.

A greatful Mr Verbruggen has said, “It is a great honour for me to be entrusted with this responsibility. Having already worked as chairman of the commission which evaluated the candidate cities for the Summer Games in 2008, I am very pleased to be able to make a further contribution to the IOC during the forthcoming years of hard work that awaits us.”

He said that he was confident that the “Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) will be able to guarantee us ideal conditions for staging superb Games”.

President of the International Cycling Union (UCI) since 1991, Mr Verbruggen is also vice-president of the General Association of International Sports Federations(GAISF) and has been a member of the Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency since 1999.

A member of the Evaluation Commission for the Olympic Games in 2004, he has been on the Coordination Commission for these Games in Athens since 1998.

Sr National Table Tennis at Amravati
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, November 9
The Senior National Table Tennis Championship, which carries a total prize money of Rs 3,38,000, will be held at Amravati (Maharashtra), from January 5 to 11, 2002. Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) secretary-general M C Chouhan said here today that the Junior and Sub-Junior National Championships would be held next month. He said Panaji in Goa would host the Rs 74,500 prize money Junior Nationals from December 7 to 12.

Subroto Cup Soccer

The Subroto Mukherjee Cup Football Tournament for champion football teams from all over the country will be held at the Ambedkar Stadium from November 17 to December 13, 2001

Pratap Singh Cup Polo

The Hyundai Sonata Maharaj Sir Pratap Singh Cup Polo Tournament will be held at the Jaipur Polo ground, Race Course Road. The semi-finals and the final will be held on November 10 and 11 respectively.