Foreign media gets sneak preview of Commonwealth Games stadiums

NEW DELHI - The organizers of the Commonwealth Games took the foreign media on an exciting tour of the main stadiums prepared for the sporting extravaganza in New Delhi.

The first stop on the media tour was the Dhyanchand Stadium, where the field hockey competition would be held.

Former Indian hockey captain and currently the administrator for the Dhyanchand Stadium, Zafar Iqbal said the stadium was set to impress the visitors and players from abroad alike.

“It has a capacity of about 19,000 people. We are privileged to have three-tier parking below this ground for 400 cars. Also, there are flood lights,” Iqbal said.

Organisers said environmental conservation was one of the driving forces behind their planning and execution of the games infrastructure and Thyagraj stadium, the venue for the netball event.

“The stadium is a fully green stadium. It is the only fully green stadium in the world. In that respect, it has a rain-harvesting roof, it has a gas turbine that controls the electricity and air-conditioning,” said Carmel Wright, competition manager of netball.

Last minute finishing touches were still being given to the main showpiece stadium - the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium which would host the opening and the closing ceremonies.

Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of Organising Committee, said Delhi was ready to put up a spectacular show.

“The Games will be very good. Everything has been done on time. There are still 20 days to go and everything will be fine. In spite of heavy rains, everything was done on time. We were confident since the beginning that things will be done on time and now you can see that everything is in place,” he added.

India is expecting about two million visitors in New Delhi for the Games, and about 10,000 athletes from 71 teams representing 54 Commonwealth member states.

The 12-day sporting extravaganza, which will be held from October 3 to 14, will be India’s biggest sporting event since the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. (ANI)