WORLD HALF MARATHON
Under the leadership of Mr Kalmadi India will be hosting the World Half Marathon in October 2004, which is a very prestigious IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) event. Many of the international marathon greats and stars will descend on Delhi for this mega event.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2010 www.cwgdelhi.com
The CWG 2010 is a big moment that will result in changes of the magnitude that the National Games brought to Pune in 1994, and those that the Asian Games brought to Delhi in 1982.

Sports men and women from 72 countries are going to descend on India. To cope with the expected influx during this time into Delhi, a lot will happen to Delhi and the country - the economy, infrastructure, amenities, and the quality of life. The proposed budget of Rs 1998 crore will prepare our nation to hold the Olympics 2016.

AFRO-ASIAN GAMES www.afroasiangames.org
The successful organization of the Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad, with Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, paved the way for India to win the bid for hosting the Commonwealth Games 2010. With sportsmen and women from over 95 Asian and Africa countries, the management and logistics of arranging the Games were immense. But the leadership of Mr. Suresh Kalamdi and Mr. Chandrababu Naidu demonstrated that we are capable of conceiving and organizing even the biggest events.

India was second only to China in the medals tally and earned 19 Golds, 32 Silver, and 29 Bronze medals for a total of 80 medals. This is reminiscent of our best ever performance in Asian Games which were held in Busan, and the Indian team won 11 Gold, 12 Silver, and 17 Bronze for a total of 40 medals - second only to China.

NATIONAL GAMES
One of the best organized National Games was the 1994 edition held in Pune of which Mr. Kalmadi was the Chariman of the Organizing Committee. Since then 4 more National Games have been held under his leadership in Banglore, Manipur, Punjab, and Hyderabd. Infrastructure of international standards woth Rs 1000 crore has been created to host these games, and the infrastructure is now being used for national and international events. The next edition of the games have been alloted to Assam.

In addition to the National Games, National Winter Games habe also been organized at Auli, Shimla, and Gulmarg. Mr. Kalmadi has focused on providing oppportunities for National Winter Games to rise to Olympic Standards.

RUN FOR YOUR COUNTRY – DELHI MARATHONS
"Run for Your Country" and "Nehru Centennary Run" was organized by Mr. Suresh Kalmadi as the Chairman of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (which since April 01, 2004 has dropped the Amateur from its name) with unprecedented mass participation.

"Run for your Country" also called "Freedom Run" was one of the world's largest marathon in which over half-a-million runners participated. Even the then Prime Minister of India Rajiv gandhi himself was an enthusiastic participant.

ASIAN GRAND PRIX
Mr. Kalmadi introduced the Asian Grand Prix in 2002, which has now been held twice. It started off in Hyderabad, and was also organized in Manila, Bangkok, and Colombo. It is now an annual feature.

I want a Puneite to win a gold medal in the Olympics 2016, when we will try to bring the Olympics to India. I am also the Chairman of the Olympics 2016 Bid Committee.”
- Suresh Kalmadi

Mr. Kalmadi started his sports career with the Pune Athletics Association. As the President of the Maharashtra Athletics Association he started the Pune International Marathon, which is the only International Level marathon in India that is recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations. He was the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the National Games in Pune in 1994, which ushered the 2nd major developmental phase of Pune infrastructural growth.

As President of the Athletics Federation of India he has organized 8 permit meets in athletics which included athletes like Carl Lewis, Sergi Bubka, Merlene Ottey, Michael Johnson, Mike Powell, Said Aouita, John Godina, Gwen Torrtenee, Flo Jo, Ibrahim Ismail, Muhammed Sulaiman, and Susanthika Jayasinghe.

As Member of Parliament in Delhi Mr Kalmadi has always worked for increased budgetary allocation for creating infrastructure, facilities, and training for sports all over the country, especially for athletics. He also fought for more sports in the Armed Forces and the Army Sports College is becoming a reality in Pune.

NATIONAL GAMES
Mr. Kalmadi was the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the National Games in Pune in 1994. They have been one of the best-conducted Games so far, and it was largely due to the political power and organizing ability of Suresh Kalmadi. It was during this time that the pride of Pune Sport’s establishment – the Chhatrapati Shivaji Stadium, a sports complex spread over 62 hectares was built. It was the first stadium of its kind to be built in Maharashtra, and the facilities available here are probably the best available at one place anywhere in the country. It has since then been in regular use for the conduct of national and international events.

Since the Pune National Games in 1994 four more National Games have been organized under his leadership at Banglore, Manipur, Punjab, and Hyderabad. The next Games will be held in Assam.

The National Games are one of the biggest multi-discipline sports events conducted in the country, and involve the participation of thousands of athletes and officials. Conducting such a massive sports extravaganza calls for tremendous organizational ability, meticulous planning, top class communication systems and above all the ability to tackle emergencies quickly and effectively, cutting through red tape and bureaucratic delays.

PUNE INTERNATIONAL MARATHON
Pune International Marathon is the brainchild of Mr. Suresh Kalmadi. This is the only international marathon in India, recognized by IAAF, and has been successfully conducted 18 times. The first edition of Pune International Marathon was held on September 25, 1983.

In 1980 when Mr. Suresh Kalmadi took over as President of the Maharashtra Athletics Association, he undertook the selection trials for the Marathon team to represent the country at the Moscow Olympics. Mr. Kalmadi drew a plan and discussed the same with the then President of the Maharashtra Olympic Association Mr. Sharad Pawar. This meeting threw up a positive message and the "Run for Fitness"theme was conceptualized, and born with it was the idea of starting an International Marathon in the state.

ASIAN CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Asian Cross Country Championships were held in Pune on February 22, 2004, under the aegis of Asian Athletics Association, of which Mr. Suresh Kalmadi is the President. The event was held for the first time in India. Mr. Kalmadi said, "We belong to Pune, Pune belongs to us, right till the finishing line." A total of 80 athletes from 13 countries participated in the cross country held at Poona Turf Club.

Mr. Kalmadi currently holds the following positions related to sports: