Commonwealth Games beyond the hype

Ato Boldon is from Trinidad and Tobago and before he became a senator in the opposition and then a television sports presenter, he was a four-time Olympic medal winner. Only two other men, Francis Fredrick and Carl Lewis, have won as many medals in individual sprint events of the biggest sports event.

Boldon’s other feat is he holds the Commonwealth Games record for running 100m in 9.88 seconds. Chances are you have not heard about him. Another athlete from his neighbouring country, Jamaica, Usain Bolt is more famous and possibly needs no introduction.

Boldon’s effort during the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games pales in comparison with the seemingly superhuman effort by Bolt to run the most popular sprint in a world record timing of 9.58 seconds last year. His 9.69 seconds finish at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 is the fastest ever for the sports pinnacle meet.
Boldon never won a 100m gold at the Olympics and that is hardly a ticket to lasting glory, his CWG record notwithstanding. Whereas, Bolt is easily, the most sought after athlete in the world today. It comes as no surprise, although disappointing, that Bolt has decided to give CWG in Delhi  a skip as he says it will affect his preparations for the World Athletics Championships to be held in South Korea next year.

Comparing records of the popular events in Olympics and in the CWG throws light on the difference in competitive levels that exist. There may not be much difference between Bolt’s Olympic record of 9.68 and Boldon’s 9.88 but in 100 metres, the latter’s timing is no longer considered good enough.

India hopes to have a rich haul in shooting and it will in all likelihood rake in the medals. But medals at the CWG do not really translate into quality assurance or global standards.

At the 2006 CWG in Melbourne, Indian shooter Samaresh Jung won five gold, one silver and a bronze, he was nicknamed “Goldfinger” and was even awarded the Best Athlete of the Commonwealth Games. Riding on heaps of promise, he competed in the 10m and 50m pistol events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but failed to qualify for the final. This amply shows the success at CWG possibly needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.

However, former Indian athlete Vandana Rao says for many athletes the Commonwealth Games is a priority.

“Of course it cannot be considered at the same level as Olympics, but for many athletes it ranks right up there with Asian Games etc,” she said. Arguably, India’s finest athlete ever, PT Usha said, “For all the Commonwealth nations, CWG is a very important meet for their athletes. It may not be as big as Worlds or Olympics but still for them there is a lot of incentive here.”

Incentives apart, the question of quality will always be raised, with reference to CWG.

Rao said that with many big names missing from this year’s Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi, it would be difficult to comment on the quality of the competition. “But one thing is that it is a big deal for Indian athletes. I cannot say about athletes from outside but Indians will go for it and give it their best shot.”

Indian track and field athletes lag behind compared to global standards and are hardly expected to rewrite records.

Rao identifies athletics, hockey, wrestling as three events that will be closely contested during the Games in Delhi. With teams from Pakistan, Canada, England and India participating in the hockey event, it will surely be one of the contests to watch out for.

About the events that will be fought keenly, Usha said, “The competition will be very tight. But in certain events like discus throw, shot put, long and triple jump in athletics, shooting, weightlifting, wrestling, badminton, tennis it would certainly be low-level. These sports India should make the most of it.” India’s Olympic bronze medal winner Akhil Kumar, however, said that it does not really matter whether it is a Commonwealth Games or Olympics, an athlete should always give it his best shot.

Usha seconded Akhil, “A true athlete will always aim for a podium finish and setting records too.”

World No.3 shuttler Saina Nehwal said, “CWG is a major event apart from the three big events (Olympics, Asian and World Championships). It is big for Commonwealth countries and no one takes it lightly because a medal is a medal.”

Saina said that badminton at the Asian Games is as good as any world meet as Asians dominate the sport. However, she said with countries like Singapore and Malaysia in the fray badminton at the CWG will be competitive enough.

However, aquatic events will possibly see some world class action thanks to swimmers from England and Australia. With the pull out of Stephanie Rice, the event may have lost out on some glamour quotient as well but (as the box suggests) the freestyle 100m swimming records set in CWG are not very far from world’s best.

Bolt has made it clear that he wants to save himself for the World Championship next year. Bolt can afford to skip events, for others CWG is still a window of opportunity.

“A world record, if made, at the CWG will still be a world record. Nobody is going to discount it because it was not set in Olympics or world meet,” said Kumar. Meanwhile, with the CWG coming up, Ato Boldon’s achievement can be an interesting trivia question to surprise your friend with.