By Ravi Kant Singh, IANS
Hyderabad : Security has been overwhelming at the 4th Military World Games. And the Indian armed forces personnel are supremely confident that they have things well under control.
So when a soldier reported an abandoned bag at the Artillery Centre near Golconda, venue for the judo competition, his officer reacted calmly and walked up to the gym bag, unzipping it without fear to examine the contents.
What was found inside was nothing but a change of clothes left behind by a forgetful judo official who was not spared a dressing down from the army officer for nearly creating a panic situation.
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Korean sit-in at the boxing ring
When South Korean boxer Lee Dong Won lost his 51 kg semi-final bout to John Franklin of the US 24-21, he could not believe the result and decided to protest in his own style – squatting in the ring.
For a few moments officials were baffled by the action from a fellow member of the armed forces but soon better sense prevailed as the Korean coach managed to persuade his player to end his protest and vacate the ring for the competition to continue.
But not before Lee had given an earful to the Jamaican ring official and the ringside judges – though it only brought wry smiles to the faces of Koreans as only they understood what was being said. Not many bothered to find out what was actually said since it could not have been anything very pleasant.
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Swimming record draws jeers
The large display screen flashed that a world record had been set in the women’s 50 metres backstroke. The crowd jeered. They suspected the officials were going overboard again.
Three days ago, the screen had flashed that two world records had been set in the swimming events. Sheepish officials clarified later that they were Military World Games records.
So when the spectators saw the flash this time, they jeered till the event announcer confirmed that it was indeed a world record swim by Li Yang of China.
Fortunately Li herself could confirm that it was a world record and that she had been practicing hard to set the record before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. That it has happened well before the deadline is great news for the Chinese swimmer, who can now work even harder for an Olympic gold medal as well.