C'Wealth Games: All’s well that starts well

“The time has come!” yells a signboard near the CWG Organising Committee office at Connaught Place, a few miles away from the showpiece Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

After months of uncertainty and doubts over whether India can pull it off, the 19th Commonwealth Games are finally set for a grand opening on Sunday evening. From Monday, around 6,000 athletes from 71 countries and Commonwealth territories will vie for 829 medals at stake in 17 disciplines spread over 11 venues.

Officials said they expected the final tally of athletes to touch 6,700, topping the 2006 Melbourne Games’ record of 5,766 participants. “Delhi 2010 will be the biggest ever Commonwealth Games,” secretary general of the Games organising committee Lalit Bhanot said, with over 5,800 athletes and officials already in the Indian capital. But amid fears of a terrorist attack during the quadrennial competition, the capital has become a fortress, with 17,000 paramilitary troops reinforcing 80,000 police personnel.

This evening, in a gala opening ceremony, about 7,000 men, women and children will showcase India’s cultural heritage, with the icing on the cake being a performance by maestro AR Rahman.

With most of the tickets already sold out, the nearly three-hour ceremony, scheduled from 7 pm, will start with President Pratibha Patil and Britain’s Prince Charles expected to declare the Games open in a packed stadium with a capacity of 65,000.

The ceremony will have six segments, which include Rhythm of India, Swagatam, Tree of Knowledge, Yoga, Great Indian Journey and Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman’s rendition of the CWG anthem ‘Jiyo Utho Badho Jeeto’.

The 619-member strong Indian contingent will be led by Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, who will carry the Indian flag during the ceremony.

Even though tennis star Sania Mirza will not be part of the Indian march-past as the Hyderabadi ace has preferred to rest, badminton star Saina Nehwal, Beijing Olympic Games bronze medalist boxer Vijender Kumar and wrestler Sushil Kumar will be among the six who will carry the baton during the formal part of the pageant.

For the first time in their lives, several Indian athletes will find themselves the centre of attention at a major international event.

For paralympic swimmer Prasanta Karmakar, it couldn’t have gotten bigger or better than this. “I’ve been to eight or ten international events, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” he says. “Everything’s in place... I believe this can be a turning point not just for disabled sports in India, but for the whole disabled community.”

Karmakar, who has been dreaming of the Commonwealth for the last four years, has been bitter in the past about his efforts at international events not being popularly recognised.

This time he knows that, finally, all eyes in India will be on him and the rest of the Indian contingent. “How many people know I participated in the World Championships, that I have three Asian records?” he asks. “But with the Commonwealth Games, I know I’m being watched, and that will inspire me to win a medal.”

Badminton player Aditi Mutatkar, whom few people outside the sport recognise, is thrilled that national attention is finally on the Indian athlete.

“We have a match on Monday, so I am not sure whether I will be attending the ceremony. But if I do, it will be for the first time that I will be making an appearance in front of my own people. I am very excited about it, and I will be wearing a saree for the ceremony,” she said.