Thursday, September 9, 2010

Common Wealth Games 2010

The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events. It was the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in Delhi and India, eclipsing the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982.

The opening and closing ceremonies were held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event. It was the first time that the Commonwealth Games were held in India and the second time it was held in Asia after Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1998. The official mascot of the Games was Shera and the official song of the Games, "Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto", was composed by celebrated Indian musician A.R. Rahman.

Initially, several concerns and controversies surfaced before the start of the Games. Despite these concerns, all member nations of the Commonwealth of Nations participated in the event, except Fiji, which is suspended from the Commonwealth, and Tokelau, which didn't send a team. A widely-praised opening ceremony helped improve the image of the Games. The concerns raised during the buildup to the Games proved largely unfounded as most events progressed smoothly. The final medal tally was led by Australia. India won 101 medals. The host nation India gave its strongest performance yet to emerge second, while England placed third. The day after the conclusion of the Games, the Indian Government announced the formation of a special investigation committee to probe the allegations of corruption and mismanagement that had marred the buildup to the Games.

No comments:

Post a Comment