Only debris to be cleared at Yamuna Sports Complex

NEW DELHI - Record rainfall in the national capital has left a question mark over the completion of the Yamuna Sports Complex, one of the venues for the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games.

Urban development minister S. Jaipal Reddy said the sports complex, which will host the archery and table tennis, will miss the Aug 31 deadline set by the Group of Ministers (GOM), overseeing the Commonwealth Games.

The two competition managers Dhanraj Choudhary (table tennis) and Rathin Datta (archery) said the venue will be ready in time as the venue needs to be cleared of the construction waste.

Dhanraj, secretary general of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), told IANS that only the rubble outside the stadium needs to be cleared.

“Work inside the stadium is complete. The show courts lights are installed, only the angles need to be adjusted. All work will be finished by Aug 31,” Dhanraj said.

Datta concurred with Dhanraj and said that the cleaning would be done in a few days time.

“The cleaning work is left but that should be completed in a few days time. All equipment will be made available to the archers when they arrive,” said Datta.

India are a strong contender for medals in both the sports to be played at the venue.

The table tennis team led by Sharath Kamal won the team gold at the Melbourne Games. Kamal, who also won the individual gold, is all set to defend his title this time around.

India will be fighting for six medals and is likely to face stiff competition from Singapore and Nigeria.

The archery squad led by former world champion Dola Banerjee also has a good chance of winning medals in the recurve and compound categories. The sport has been included in the Commonwealth Games after 1982 and wll have 24 medals at stake.