India – China

When the bogie of preparedness for the Commonwealth Games was raised, the immediate defense put forward by the organizers of the Game was that it is like the Indian marriage, where chaos reigns and by the time the marriage day arrives all the things are hunky dory. Besides, another point that was put forward was that even China was not prepared for the Olympic Games and by the time the Olympics Games were scheduled to open all the things had fallen in place.

The argument did not hold water manifest from the fact that Prime Minister of the country decided to take the charge and monitor the preparations on a day-to-day basis. For those who do not follow the international events, it may bring some solace but the fact of the matter is that China’s preparedness for Olympics Games was being covered by all the international media on a regular basis. Is any of the international media tracking Indian preparedness, if it is being tracked, it is to highlight the mismatch between the preparedness and the timeline.

Has Commonwealth been able to erect a physical infrastructure that can be talked about as an architectural marvel? China’s famous nest stadium where the Olympics games where inaugurated was the toast of the eye of the media all over the world and there was a great sense of anticipation for its opening.

Here in India, we are majorly refurbishing the old structures that have been created, and all the processes of creation have been commented upon by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. When Suresh Kalmadi was the Chairman of SAF Games which were held in Pune, there also issues of infrastructure were the talk of the town, but the only difference was that as the SAF Games were held in Pune, National Media did not pry on the preparations with such intensity as it is doing now Possibly, they would have taken lessons from the Pune fiasco, as even the international athletes had complained about the tardy infrastructure and associated arrangements.

The difference between India and China laid in the fact that there was one authority that was working and overseeing the preparation and not a whiff of corruption was smelled in the air. It was taken as a matter of national pride, while here now that a situation of cleft stick has evolved, the national pride is being evoked.  China had involved the youth in a big way, while no young generation has so far been associated with the CWG. If this small step is undertaken, may be the pride can be salvaged!

By: Suman Rai

Tags: China, Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Games, India, Olympic Games, Prime Minister, SAF Games, Suresh Kalmadi