Yoga sessions at Games Village (Games Sidelights)

NEW DELHI - After captivating audiences and athletes with a scintillating yoga show at the inaugural ceremony, the Organising Committee (OC) has gone a step further.

It is now offering free yoga sessions at the Games Village.

The session started from today (Monday) morning, with two classes each in the morning and evening, an official of the OC said.

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Shera merchandise in big demand after CWG opener

With the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony a big hit, the demand for Games merchandise has suddenly shot up.

Mugs, water bottles and other items with Shera, the Games mascot, embellishing them were seen going off the shelves fast at merchandise shops at the Games Village.

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Loo problem

Toilets at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium were a disaster Sunday during the Games opening ceremony.

So much so, that in one place women were seen queuing up in front of a toilet meant for disabled people since the ladies toilet was locked.

Although many complained that even that was in a bad state — what with tissues strewn around and the flush not working — they were relieved that it was at least open.

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No water bottles near the courts, please

The heat and the organisers’ refusal to allow spectators to take in water bottles led to a man fainting at the tennis venue, the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium Monday.

The man, apparently dehydrated, had just risen from his seat to go towards the water counter around noon, when he suddenly lost consciousness and fell down. This led to a flurry of activity as the organisers as also a doctor rushed towards the man to attend to him. They sprinkled water on him and finally led him out.

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Non-functional card readers

Many of the so-called sophisticated card readers installed at the metallic entry gates at Commonwealth Games venues for reading details of accreditation cards were not working Monday.

Many journalists faced trouble with the card readers not reading the bar codes on their accreditation cards. Security men at the gates said the information about many of the cards has not been fed into the card reader.

Security men in some cases let journalists in after writing down their names and mobile numbers and asked for visiting cards.

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It was again lack of proper finishing

Some of the cables were left uncovered near the media desk at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during Sunday’s opening ceremony. At least seven-eight mediapersons tripped over and fell. One of them tumbled down two-three steps and got an ankle injury.

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Indian journalists, normally known for their cynicism and stoic approach, got totally absorbed in the spectacular opening ceremony Sunday.

Some of them turned emotional and were heard saying, “We can do it”.

A few women journalists were seen dancing during the song and dance sequences. Some others constantly clapped as Indian artistes gave an awesome display of their talent during the programme, like the one on yoga.

For once, there was almost not a single voice of disapproval. All agreed it was a great show.

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All quiet at Village media centre

Now that the focus is on sporting events, the media centre at the Games Village, which was buzzing with journalists till Saturday, was all quiet Monday.

Instead of scribes, the room was occupied by officials of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Even the media lounge next door where the scribes usually went for some coffee and juice wore a deserted look with only some volunteers lazing around.