By Ravi Kant Singh, IANS
Hyderabad : Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu decided to watch the ongoing 4th Military World Games and visited the boxing and athletics venues at the Gachibowli sports complex, one of his pet projects that helped put the state capital on the international sporting map.
But Naidu didn’t seem too pleased with the empty stands that he saw Thursday.
Taking a dig at the present state government, Naidu said transport arrangements were inadequate, making it difficult for people to travel to the various events.
The former chief minister did not miss a chance to point to the success of the 2002 National Games and the Afro-Asian Games the following year when he was in power. He said the present Congress government was not interested in promoting Hyderabad for sports which is the reason that it is no longer being considered a possible venue for Formula One racing.
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Mist hits Hyderabad early
Winter seems to have come to Hyderabad early. With football matches kicking off as early as 8 a.m., it has been a nightmare to get the grounds ready for the games because of the heavy dew.
Adding to the problem is early morning fog at the Army Ordnance Corps Centre in twin-city Secunderabad where it was not possible to sight all the four corner flags from the centre of the pitch.
Wilko Jensen of the Netherlands, referee for the first football semi-final between Egypt and Qatar, wore a worried look as he walked around the pitch along with the two referees’ assistants trying to work out how to get the proceedings underway without delay.
Miraculously, the sun broke through 15 minutes before the scheduled start and all was clear – so clear that people were soon sweating in the hot sun that beat down mercilessly for the rest of the day.
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Details of ceremonies are classified information!
The details of the opening and closing ceremonies at the 4th Military World Games seemed to be classified information, not be shared with the media or even the officials directly involved with the event.
The marching order for the contingents during the opening ceremony caught everyone by surprise, including the stadium announcer, when the teams entered the G.M.C. Balayogi Stadium in the alphabetical order of the way their names are written in French.
Despite the fact that Afghanistan led the parade during the dress rehearsal, at the actual all were taken aback when South Africa were at the head of the line.
Now with the closing ceremony Sunday, none seems to “know” what cultural programmes are being organised and what would be the schedule for the bringing the curtain down.
“You have to wait for Sunday,” is all senior officers involved with the show are prepared to disclose.
Apart from ceremonies being kept under wraps, even basic information like lane assignments for track events or change of timings for matches, especially those involving India, are not announced to the media for reasons best known to the organisers.