Hassles ahead for Afro-Asian Games

N. Ananthanarayanan

India is racing against time to complete the preparations for the first Afro-Asian Games in November, which has been hit by delays in getting facilities ready, poor financial returns and low-key competitions.

The New Delhi games will feature athletics, boxing, hockey, soccer, shooting, swimming, tennis and weightlifting. The top four nations from the last African Games and three from the last Asian Games, besides an Indian entry will, make the field.

The country's sports minister, Uma Bharti says sprucing up venues -- all built almost 20 years ago for the 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi -- may be completed only days ahead of the November 3-11 games.

"I am very anxious because the time is very short. Some facilities will be ready months in advance and few only days in advance," Bharti told Reuters in an interview over the weekend.

The work includes re-laying two hockey turfs and building another. The athletics track at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue for the games, will also get a facelift.

Besides, uneven turfs at the Nehru stadium and two other grounds have to be vastly improved for the football event.

HEAVY EXPENDITURE
The games were confined to the drawing board for over a decade, and were almost grounded last month when the Sports ministry directed the Indian Olympic Association to postpone it, accusing IOA officials of infighting.

It was rescued by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who gave the go ahead after protests by IOA officials.

The government has pledged 500 million rupees to fund the games which is estimated to cost 750 million rupees. But the budget could be exceeded as India have also agreed to pay the travel expenses of participants.

The IOA has agreed to raise the rest through corporate sponsorships, but the government has warned it cannot shell out any more.

Critics fear expenditure could reach around one billion rupees, and say India had spent around 10 billion rupees for the 1982 Asian Games.

They also point to a recent report by the sports federations which said India could expect to win only 18 of the 463 medals on offer.

India, with a population of over a billion people, won just one bronze medal at last year's Sydney Olympics and was seventh in the 1998 Asian Games. India's 35 medals were a huge contrast to the 274 won by China to top the table.

DATE CLASHES
The games could also suffer without top-level competition as its schedule clashes with that of the six-nation hockey Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the ATP World Doubles tennis tournament in India.

Indian officials said they were trying to seek a postponement of the two events which coincide with the Afro-Asian Games.

This would allow Pakistan and South Korea take part in the hockey event and India's tennis pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in the tennis event at the games.

Bharti said hockey was the most prestigious event for India in the games and full-participation should be ensured.

"I would say if the top hockey teams are not coming here, then the attraction of the games will fall by half."