New Delhi, September 28
Around 850 more foreign athletes and officials filled up the Games Village by late today, and those who have arrived have been completely bowled over by the truly world class Games Village and other facilities on offer.

Teams like New Zealand, England, Australia, Scotland, Canada and even Pakistan and many others were fed on horror stories by the international media back home, but once they entered the Games Village, most of them were wide-eyed and pleasantly surprised at the spick and span condition and the wide expanses of the Games Village. Some blocks of flats, which were handed over to the Organising Committee late, and required much cleaning up, have been put in order, earning all-round praise of the foreign officials and athletes.

New Zealand, who had delayed their departure to Delhi after reading negative reports about the Games Village, have given their thumbs-up to the facilities. Bowling team coach Dave Edwards said the players had no complaints after their first night in the village. "Obviously, there's been a bit of work to go in over the past few days, but as far as we're concerned, it's fine", he said.

"There's a little bit of dust and some poor finishing with plaster and paint and things like that, but we're very happy with what we've got", he added.

Edwards said one athlete, who had been to past games, praised the space in the rooms. "There's stories from previous Commonwealth Games where you roll over in the middle of the night and give your neighbour in the bed next to you a black eye", he noted. "But these are roomy and spacious (in Delhi) in that regard, and the rest of the village is all fine. The dining hall is excellent", he remarked about the 63.5 acre Vilalge complex. The New Zealand archery and boxing teams also checked into the Village.

The first batch of the England team, who were accommodated in a five-star hotel till their blocks of flats were readied, commented that their accommodation was like a "three-star facility".

"This is not five star...It is reasonable three-star and athletes are fine with that", England's chef-de-mission Craig Hunter told the media. Austalian chef-de-mission Steve Moneghetti said his country's athletes, who had some reservations about the Games Village, were "pleasantly surprised" after checking-in.

"Our athletes are happy with the training facilities and dining area. We are satisfied with our residential tower", added Moneghetti. Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik, who had complained of the block of rooms allotted to his country's contingent, sang a different tune today as he expressed satisfaction with the facilities in the Games Village.

Bangladesh High Commissioner Tarik A Karim was also happy with the facilities. Malaysia brought the largest contingent of 93 athletes and officials today, followed by Jamaica (87), North Ireland (83), Samoa (57), Guernsey (55), New Zealand, Cook Island (49) and Australia (48).

Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik, who had complained of the block of rooms allotted to his country's contingent, sang a different tune and expressed satisfaction with the facilities.

New Delhi, September 28
Do National Sports Federations (NSFs) have anything to do with the selection and training of national teams for the upcoming Commonwealth and Asian Games?

If the President of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI) Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa is to be believed, it is Sports Authority of India all the way and the NSFs do not have much say in the matter. Dhindsa was surprised to learn from The Tribune reports today that four cyclists had been training in the national camp for events that are not there in the Commonwealth Games.

“I do not know who included them in the camp in the first place and is now asking them to leave. At least the CFI has neither included them in the camp nor did it ask them to leave. We have nothing to do with the selection and training of the team. It is all under SAI control,” says Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. Dhindsa sent a letter to the Director-General of the SAI today expressing his shock and dismay at the treatment meted out to four cyclists, who had been training hard at the camp with the fond hopes of representing the country in the Commonwealth Games.

“Why nobody took notice of their events not being there in the Games schedule is really shocking? I am really surprised at the way the prime sports organisation of the country has been functioning, “ said Dhindsa. There have been instances in the past when the national federations as well as the players have raised objections to the manner in which the national squads are being trained.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, too, had lashed out at the selection process. A silver medalist in the Athens Olympic games, Rathore was kept out of the national squad.

Even Abhinav Bindra had a running feud with the SAI and its selection process requiring physical participation in the selection trials. His argument being that his competition-cum-training programme should be accepted as a part of the selection process.

The selection of hockey team with a single goalkeeper too has evoked mixed reactions. Though it gives the team an additional player, it also puts extra pressure on the other players as one of them has to back up as the goalkeeper. In training games, the team without a goalkeeper has surprisingly shown better results than the team with a regular goalkeeper. Injury to Adrian D Souza may have prompted the selectors to take this calculated risk. 

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, too, had lashed out at the selection process. A silver medalist in the Athens Olympic games, Rathore was kept out of the national squad

Chandigarh, September 28
“If Harbhajan Singh doesn’t play, it will be a huge bonus for us,” said Australian vice captain Michael Clarke here today.

Notably, the Indian offie is doubtful to play in the first Test, starting at PCA, Mohali from October 1, as he suffered a sprain in his ankle during the net session yesterday. Sources claimed that according to MRI reports the injury was grave and would take time to recover.

Praising Harbhajan, who had wrecked havoc with his 32 wickets against ‘Kangaroos’ in just three Tests in 2001 in India, Clarke said that he bowls quicker in the air, which was very tough to track.

“He is always tough to face and there is always a great challenge to play him as he is one of the best spinners in the world,” said Clarke.

Clarke also added that Bhajji always liked to play against Australia and has had tremendous success bowling against Australia. “So I think, he will definitely play in the first match. I would be surprised if he did not play,” said Clarke.

Today, Harbhajan had to leave the nets after half-an-hour, when he evidently had some trouble due to yesterday’s injury while hitting a shot. The spinner came for net practice along with the other team members at Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, where he bowled to Virender Sehwag for around 10 minutes.

But when he went in to bat, he seemed in pain and decided to leave the session. Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir, who had also sustained a injury on his wrist two days ago, came to nets and batted for around half-an-hour.

New Delhi, September 28
Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik will lead India Blue and India Red respectively, while India Green will be captained by Subramanium Badrinath when Airtel Challenger Series for NKP Salve Trophy commences in Indore from October 8-11. Senior national selection committee led by Krishnamachari Srikkanth today decided to give some of the tried and tested faces another lifeline as the senior national team will embark on a long international season with the focus on next year's World Cup to be staged in the sub-continent.

Some of the youngsters will also get a chance to showcase their talent which could catapult them to the big league. Dashing Karnataka batsman Robin Uthappa, Uttar Pradesh left-arm seamer Rudra Pratap Singh, all-rounder Irfan Pathan are some of the players who would be eager to make a mark and get back into the national fold.

Irfan's elder brother Yusuf, who last played an ODI against Sri Lanka at Harare, will also get a chance to show his big-hitting prowess. Similarly, former India U-19 wicketkeeper Srivats Goswami, Karnataka batsman Ganesh Sathish, Punjab leg-spinners Sarabjit Ladda and Rahul Sharma have been rewarded for some good performance at the domestic level.

Talented Hyderabad batsman Ambati Rayudu, who went into oblivion after his two-season stint with the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL), is also back in the mix in the wake of some strong performance for Mumbai Indians in the IPL and Champions League Twenty20. Rayudu's former ICL colleague, Madhya Pradesh opener Mohnish Mishra has also been rewarded with a call-up in the India 'Red' side.

Squads: India Blue: Yuvraj Singh (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Srivats Goswami, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Piyush Chawla, Umesh Yadav, R P Singh, Yo Mahesh, Ganesh Satish, Tanmay Srivastava.

India Red: Dinesh Kartik (capt), Abhinav Mukund, Parthiv Patel, Manish Pandey, Virat Kohli, Saurabh Tiwary, Yusuf Pathan, Iqbal Abdulla, R Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Sudeep Tyagi, Mohnish Mishra, Abu Nachim Ahmed, Rahul Sharma.

India Green: S Badrinath (capt), Naman Ojha, Srikkanth Aniruddha, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa, Kedar Jadhav, R Ashwin, Jaskaran Singh, Abhimanyu Mithun, Jaydev Unadkat, Sarabjit Ladda, T Suman, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ambati Rayudu. — PTI 

Patiala, September 28
With NADA fixing October 21 as the next date of hearing for dope tainted players and the federations not giving clear opinion as to what would be their next step regarding including these players in the Commonwealth squads, the players are now in a fix over the entire situation. Though lawyers of the athletes who tested positive for banned stimulant methylhexaneamine claimed they could take part in the Commonwealth Games in the absence of a provisional suspension, still players have not got any positive response from the federations.

With different federations giving different views on their future step, it has become difficult to ascertain as to whether these players have actually got any relief after NADA lifted their provisional suspension.

President of the Wrestling Federation of India GS Mander when contacted in this regard had declared that the wrestlers would not be allowed to be play in CWG as their names had not been cleared. “Lifting of provisional suspension does not mean anything till they are cleared of doping charges. Moreover, they are out of practice for almost 1 month and the players who replaced them have been training during this period. Moreover, including them in the squad would be unjust to the players who have replaced them,” he added. 

CWG SNIPPETS

Milla to add glamour
Patiala: Cameron’s iconic footballer Roger Milla, the playerwho mesmerised fans across the world with his skills and his corner-flag dance in the 1990 World Cup, will be in Delhi next week to cheer for his country’s athletes in the Commonwealth Games. A top Organising Committee (OC) official disclosed that Milla will be coming at the end of this week and will be staying at a luxury hotel instead of the Games Village. The football star, who scored four goals in the 1990 World Cup and was instrumental in taking Cameron to the quarter-finals, will provide much-needed glamour to the beleaguered 11-day sporting extravaganza starting from October 3 at various venues in Delhi.

The OC official said Milla, who is also his country’s sports ambassador, will be accompanying Cameron Sports and Physical Education Minister Michael Joa to the Games.

36-year-old Milla stunned the football world with his skills in the 1990 World Cup and the organisers of the 2022 World Cup, slated to be held in Qatar, have named him their Brand Ambassador.

These days Milla spends much of his time travelling around the globe, spreading the message of goodwill and sports. This will be Milla’s second visit to India. He came to Kolkata for the first time to take part in the Mohan Bagan’s centenary celebrations just after the Italy World Cup. He even made a brief appearance on the turf while playing for a local club.

In 2004, the football star was chosen by Brazilian legend Pele and FIFA among the best 125 players in the world. Milla, a veteran of three World Cups, was pulled out of retirement by Cameron President for the 1990 World Cup at an age when most footballers contemplate retirement.

Roaming workers a security hazard: Fennell
New Delhi: A couple of days after his deputy Mick Hooper ruffled Indian feathers with his comments that Delhi’s massive population was a hazard, it was the turn of Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell to raise a few hackles as he said numerous workers roaming in the Games Village were a security concern.

In a meeting with chef-de-missions of different countries, Fennell said so many labourers ‘roaming’ across the Village could be a security hazard. However, there were voices of support for hundreds of these workers, who have been putting in long hours to clean the Village. Australian Chef De Mission Steve Moneghetti said they had “no problem” with the workers as they were doing their job.

Federation officials of late have been on a collision course with their Indian counterparts on the security front and have been making different demands, most of them dismissed by the authorities. Last week, it was said that vehicles of senior government officials and ministers on duty be checked, which authorities dismissed summarily. Hooper then demanded that there should be lanes dedicated to the CWG traffic from 6 am to well into the night.