The third Commonwealth Youth Games at Balewadi concluded on Saturday. India topped the medals tally.

Showing a marked improved performance at a time when the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge was present, India betterd their last edition's medals tally by leaps and bounds wrapping up the seven-day extravaganza with 33 gold, 26 silver and 17 bronze.

In last edition of the Games at Bendigo four years back, India could manage to garner only 10 medals (two gold, four silver and four bronze medals) to settle for a poor eighth place finish. Australia had ruled the roost there with 58 gold, 41 silver and 30 bronze, while England and South Africa had finished on second and third spots respectively.

It would not surprise me if the youth in the country is not aware of the Commonwealth Youth Games currently going on in Pune. Thanks to our mainstream media. It a shame that such a big international event is going on in the country but the national media has not alloted even ten minutes airtime in its sports quarter to the Youth Games.

It is shocking that a sports event which includes over 1,300 athletes from 71 countries and which is being held for the first time in Asia is going unnoticed by our mainstream media.

It is an irony that India as a country gets a Olympic medal, the media criticises the government and authorities for its sheer neglect. But now when it has the responsibility to cover this mega sports event and thus, promote sports like athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weight-lifting and wrestling, it is sitting back and counting its TRPs (Television Rating Points).

Sports in India does not mean just cricket, it means other sports too. When we Indians start understanding this, then only we can hope for a respectable place in the Olympics medal tally. And for this the media has to come forward and give sports events like Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 its due coverage.

Kalmadi, who is also the chairman of the Commonwealth Youth Games organising committee, was keeping a close eye on all the various venues at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports City here after the media highlighted the situation on opening day of the Games.

A digital screen installed on F C road showing live events on Monday

Last month, the issue had made headlines when a proposal suggested that Rs 19.5 crore be spent on CYG publicity, was rejected by the NCP, BJP and Shiv Sena. They said that using that kind of money was a waste of public money. Part of the funds were to be spent on LCD screens.

The CYG organising committee has, instead, decided to spend money on putting up the screens.

"We made sure that Punekars are not denied the fun and excitement happening in their own city," city Congress unit chief Abhay Chhajed told TOI.

"It is not possible for everyone to go to the Games, but, at the same time, they want to enjoy it in a charged up environment. We have made sure they get that," Chhajed said.

Places where the screens have been put up include Sarasbaug, Sambhaji park, opposite E-Square multiplex, near Bhide bridge and near Dagdusheth Ganapati temple. Akash Jagtap,a college student said that he enjoyed the opening ceremony of the CYG thoroughly after viewing it on the screen at Ganeshkhind road.

"This uphill task of holding this prestigious event would not have been possible for just one individual or a party. The credit for making the event of this magnitude goes to all parties and cooperating citizens," Kalmadi said at the inaugural ceremony of the 3rd Commonwealth Youth Games declared open by President Pratibha Patil on Sunday.

His remarks were seen in the backdrop of a vitriolic row in the run-up to the CYG in which the district guardian minister Ajit Pawar led members of Shiv Sena and BJP in castigating Kalmadi for launching an image building campaign on the CYG platform with a publicity blitz that depicted him as the sole promoter of the event.

The Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations had carried out infrastructural work for the CYG to give shape to the venue, about 20 km from the city, without politicising the issue, Pawar, a known detractor of Kalmadi, said.

In an effort to blunt the attack by the three parties which rule the Pune civic body under the Pune Pattern (denoting the amalgam of NCP and the alliance of Shiv Sena and BJP), Kalmadi had asked his volunteers to remove the banners and hoardings that painted his picture in the CYG promotion campaign.

In his speech Kalmadi also thanked Ajit Pawar who was present and his uncle Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar who did not attend the ceremony.  

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena protested for their party MP from the region, Shivaji Adhalrao Patil, being ignored by the game organisers while extending invitations for the inaugural ceremony of the games.

Though the weather seemed to spoil the party initially but rain stayed away as the Games began with the official march-in of the 71 countries.

There might be an air of casualness in Indians' attire in Beijiing, but the 158 members and 40 officials of youth contingent sported the traditional attire of sherwani and Punjabi dress as the Indians marched in amid a roaring welcome by the crowd.

Chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' reverberated in the background as the Indian boys sporting green sherwani and the traditional Maharashtrian 'Feta' (turban) and girls in green Punjabi salwar-suit, were led by Virdhawal Khade who carried the Indian flag.

The Indians soon burst into bhangra as the whole athletics stadium resembled a miniscule Beijing from the top.

Aiming to do a Beijing, the march-in parade however would be best remembered with the thin representation from few countries.

While Cameroon saw a contingent of two members, British Virgin Islands had come with five members.

There were some display of traditional dances from the members of the Lesotho who sported bamboo hats.

The function began with a show of strength by the Army who displayed a few warm-up acts on motorcycles, followed up by some acrobatic display by Mewar horses.

While Sania will not be able to attend the ceremony, her mother Naseema is in the list of dignitaries including the 'sprint queen' PT Usha, Karnam Malleshwari (weightlifting), Leander Paes (tennis), Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (shooting) and Anju Bobby George (long jump).

Also invited for the opening ceremony were India's Olympic medal winners.

Abhinav Bindra, his parents and sister will be at the Games village for three days starting on Saturday.

The ace shooter, who earned India the first individual Olympic gold in Beijing, will take part in the last leg of the Youth Baton Relay with fellow Olympic medallists Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar.

Pugilist Akhil Kumar, who missed an Olympic medal by a whisker, will also join them.

President Patil is also expected to unveil the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj near the main athletics stadium at the Balewadi Sports Complex.

Playback singers Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghosal and Shankar Mahadevan will perform in Sunday's opening ceremony.

The week-long sporting extravaganza will be declared open by President Pratibha Patil, who will arrive in the city on October 10 on a four-day visit.

Around 2,000 athletes and officials will participate in the Games being held in Asia for the first time. All 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth will be participating, Suresh Kalmadi, city MP and Chairman of the CYG Organising Committee, told reporters.

Sportspersons will vie for glory in nine disciplines - badminton, boxing, swimming, shooting, tennis, table tennis, wrestling, weightlifting and athletics.

The venue, around 20 km from the city, has been named after Chhatrapati Shivaji with a huge statue of the Maratha warrior mounted on a horse erected in the Games Village.

Considered a forerunner for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the Youth Games in Pune will showcase India's readiness to host world-class international sports events, Kalmadi said.

On Monday, the baton passed through the religious places, Dehu-Alandi, and took a halt at the industrial township of Pimpri-Chinchwad. Having flagged of from New Delhi, the baton has passed through nine different states.

The baton, projecting a three-pronged mission of promotion of Olympic sports, and spreading the messages of green games and save tiger mission, is planned to be given an impressive welcome in the city, as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the CYG organising committee and the district collectorate have chalked out elaborate plans. In the city run, eminent personalities from all walks of life will participate. On October 9, there will be a grand carnival starting from Baburao Sanas ground to Balewadi. The route it would take is: Bajirao Road, Vishrambaug Wada, Vishrambaug Wada, Laxmi Road, Alka Talkies chowk, Deccan, F C Road, Agriculture College, Pune University, Aundh and Baner.

On Tuesday, the YBR will reach Khadki cantonment area and will be brought into the city with a procession of cyclists carrying flags of the 71 participating countries. Later, sporting these flags on boats, the baton is scheduled to reach Bund Garden at 3 pm. After this, it would pass by Deccan College, Alandi Road, Airport Road, Gunjan Talkies chowk, Aga Khan Palace, Ramwadi octroi post, Wadgaon Sheri, Chandan Nagar, Kharadi, Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Fatima Nagar, Wanavdi, Ghorpadi, Koregaon Park, Wadia College chowk, Pune Station and would reach B J Medical ground by 8 pm where cultural events have been organised to give it a welcome.

The Euphoria band, led by Palash Sen, would present a musical night at the ground. After this, the baton would head for Rajeev Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj, where it would make a night sojourn.

Addressing the media, MP Suresh Kalmadi said, "The CYG served as a golden opportunity for Pune to build up its infrastructure and I am happy that all the necessary infrastructure is in place. Besides good roads, we have got good signages, high quality streetlights. I hope, all this development brings in more business for the city, with multinational companies setting up their bases here."

Kalmadi said that cities in Maharashtra, which have given a warm welcome to the baton relay, would be given an honour of welcoming the torch of the Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi in 2010. "Many places like Aurangabad, Nagpur, Baramati and Indapur, received the baton with great pomp, hence, I would make a request the Commonwealth Games authorities to carry the torch through these cities in 2010."

He said that Pune, too would welcome the baton in a sparkling manner.

The journey so far

• Among the many modes of transportation, the baton took to the sea route as 101 swimmers took the baton from the Gateway of India in Mumbai to Uran, covering the distance of seven nautical miles. In Jhansi, the vintage cars carried the baton, while in Goa, `Santa Monica', a boat, was used.
  
• The baton also visited famous religious places like the Durgah of Khwaja Garib Nawaz in Ajmer, Vitthal temple in Pandharpur, Bhavani Mata temple in Tuljapur, Guru Govindsingh Gurudwara in Nanded, Saibaba temple in Shirdi and temple of Gajanan Maharaj in Shegaon.
  
• The YBR passed through a few tiger sanctuaries like Sariska in Rajasthan, Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali, Pench in Nagpur, Tadoba in Chandrapur and Melghat region in Amaravati

In the first part, interviews Kalmadi on the preparations and progress...

With days left for the Games, is Pune 100 per cent ready to host them?
Yes, Pune is getting ready. Work inside the stadium and on civic infrastructure has been completed on schedule. I am happy with the progress. We still have some days to go and the final touches will be given in these days. We have the best sports infrastructure and we have the Olympic team coming down to help us for various events. We are making sure that everything is in place.

What about the city's civic infrastructure? Is it ready?
Yes, the four roads leading to the sports city have been done up. The much-talked-about Baner Road is ready. The media hype created about the delay in work, especially on this road, can be laid to rest now. The alternative road, Sus Road, too is ready; so are the approach road from Mumbai to Karve road via Chandni Chowk and the airport road.

The Centre recently released an extra Rs 43.5 crore. How is this going to be used?
This will be mainly for the organising committee to make various arrangements and stage various functions for the event.

How much funds have been utilised for the Games?
We got Rs 2,500 crore from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. I had Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy visit the site and an extra Rs 500 crore was released. We spent Rs 2,500 crore on civic infrastructure and Rs 500 crore on the stadium.

Where have the maximum funds been allotted?
Roadwork took up the major chunk, followed by BRTS, riverside development, slum rehab, drainage on certain stretches and green islands.

How were the results of the green sports theme?
The aim was to reduce environmental pollution; I think we have been largely successful. A green council with R K Pachauri and Shashi Tharoor on the panel was formed looking ahead at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. We started the movement; it will be taken up from here.

How much was allocated for green sports?
Around Rs 5 crore was used for spreading the message. We stressed eco-construction, solar lighting and heating, rain harvesting and landscaping, environmental awareness in schools and e-waste management in colleges. We have set up biodiversity and theme parks and arranged CNG buses and battery-operated vehicles to ferry people to the stadium. Posters on the green Games too have been put up and I am happy with the way the message has been spread.

With the Met department forecasting rain, are the Games ready to face that?
We are equipped to counter the rain. Most of the events are indoors; for the rest we will make arrangements.

Are you happy the way Pune will be showcased?
This event will put Pune on the global map. We have done all we can to present the city at its best. These last few days will see the Games being promoted as a brand.

Earlier you had said that you are not looking at CYG as a revenue-raising event...
Yes. We look at it as an opportunity to showcase Pune.

MONEY MATTERS
HOW IT CAME...
Rs 2,500 crore
From the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
Rs 500 crore
More, after Kalmadi's talks with Jaipal Reddy
Rs 43.5 crore
Additional funds released recently

WHERE IT WENT...
Rs 2,500 crore
On civic infrastructure
Rs 500 crore
On the stadium
Rs 43.5 crore

For work by the organising committee, which will make various arrangements and stage various functions

GREEN GAMES
Rs 5 crore Used for spreading a green message Spent on:

• Roadwork, which took up the bulk of the funds
  
• BRTS
  
• Riverside development
  
• Slum rehabilitation
  
• Drainage
  
• Green islands

The approval of the additional funds of Rs.43.50 crores to the Organising Committee is being done for the efficient and successful conduct of the Commonwealth Youth Games by the Organising Committee.

The Government had earlier approved expenditure budget of Rs. 767.00 crores, as loan to Organizing Committee (OC) of Commonwealth Games for conduct of Commonwealth Games 2010 and Commonwealth Youth Games, out of which budget of Rs. 66.50 crore was for the conduct of Commonwealth Youth Games .

The Organizing Committee has since presented a revised estimates for the Commonwealth Youth Games in order to make these games a grand success since they would set the tone for the main Commonwealth Games in 2010.

The XIX Commonwealth Games (CWG - 2010) are scheduled to be held at Delhi from 3rd to 14th October, 2010. The Commonwealth Youth Games ( CWYG) which are a sub- event of the main Games, will be held in Pune from 12th to 18th October, 2008. The Commonwealth Youth Games will be held in 9 disciplines viz (1) Athletics; (2) Badminton ; (3) Boxing; (4) Shooting; (5) Swimming; (6) Table Tennis; (7) Tennis; (8) Weightlifting.

Kalmadi, chairman of the organising committee of the CYG, expressed surprise over Pawar's statement and said that the amount of Rs 5 crore was not to be spent on any `publicity,' because the proposal before the PMC standing committee does not mention anything about publicity. The amount was to be spent for youth baton rally and cultural programmes, which are to be held for four days prior to the games, with an objective to involve citizens, not only from the city, but various other countries, Kalmadi said in a statement released late in the evening on Tuesday.

In the statement, Kalmadi has questioned why the NCP is not saying anything on why the roads and other works are still incomplete, though its just a few days to go for the CYG.

"It would have been appropriate if the NCP leaders had given their guidance to the Pune Pattern for completing all the related works in time. The NCP had criticised about the condition of the roads before the civic elections, but instead if the NCP had advised to Pune Pattern that the roads should be done in proper condition within proper time, citizens in Pune would have been very happy," he said.

City MP and chairman of the CYG organising committee Suresh Kalmadi said this is the first time a green agenda has been prepared for a sporting event. He said a tie-up has been initiated with the United Nations Environment Programme to implement the same.

Tharoor, who was in Pune to flag of the sustainable transport rally on Saturday, said the CYG green council has planned a four-pronged approach to manage consumption of carbon-intensive energies during the games.

The aim, he said, is to avoid use of carbon-intensive energies, reduce usage of power, replace high-intensive sources with low intensive ones and offset the consumption with renewable sources.

"It is a positive thing to hold a major sporting event like the CYG, but because of the adverse impact on the environment, it also has its negatives. For example, during any mega sporting event, the influx of athletes, officials, spectators is big. Consequently, there is large-scale usage of land, increased waste generation, a rise in usage of electricity and transportation etc. We have to be conscious of the impact of all this and more on nature. The challenge is to ensure consumption neutrality during the games," said Tharoor.

Former India women's cricketer Shubhangi Kulkarni bought the first ticket for the Games while Paromita Das made the first bulk booking of tickets, for HSBC.

How to buy
When: From October 6 to October 18
Outlets: CYG Pune 2008 Office (ICC Trade Tower); INOX theatre; SGS Mall; Sanas Ground; Saras Baug ; E-Square theatre.
On the Web: www.kyazoonga.com
By phone: 2563-KYAZ (5929), for KyaZoonga-CYG ticketing call centre
Prices: Rs 100, Rs 500, Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 for opening/closing ceremonies; and Rs 50, Rs 100/Rs 500 for Games

People can buy tickets by logging on to www.kyazoonga.com - the ticketing website of the official Ticket Concessionaire for the Games - or at designated retail e-ticket outlets that would start functioning from Monday: CYG Pune 2008 Office at ICC Trade Tower on Senapati Bapat Road, INOX theatre, SGS Mall, Sanas Ground, Saras Baug and E-Square theatre.

Customers will have the option of receiving tickets by courier or exchanging their e-tickets for physical tickets at the box office located at the venue itself. Box-office locations at the Games Village will be operational from October 6 until the closing ceremony of the Games on October 18. Credit cards, debit cards and cash will be accepted for payment.

For further details, one can log on to www.kyazoonga.com or call the KyaZoonga-CYG ticketing call centre at 2563-KYAZ (5929). Tickets cover eight disciplines - athletics, badminton, boxing, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling - and will be sold for individual days of the Games. A season ticket for a particular game would give the holder access to all the game days during the weeklong sporting extravaganza. Corporate and bulk orders will also be taken online. Tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies will be sold separately.

A function was held recently to mark the occasion, which was hosted by gracious MP Suresh Kalmadi and his lovely wife Meera. The mascot of the games, Jigrr, really stole the limelight and it was fun to see him interacting with the audience.

Hockey player Dhanraj Pillay at the event to celebrate 30 days to go for the Commonwealth Youth Games at the Ganesh Kala Krida Rang Manch on Friday, September 12, 2008.

The evening commenced with a bang when music maestros Sivamani and Louis Banks performed on stage leaving the crowd gaping for more. Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2008 Parvathy Omanakuttan and hockey wizard Dhanraj Pillay were also was present at the event.