Commonwealth Games-New Delhi 2010

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 05 Oct 2010 13:42

agreed, we are not manipulators
but the skills are very deficient in GOI babuloge

if my hypothesis is correct, newscorp are attacking bbc for revenue share purposes at the expense of India's national image globally

Murugan · Post by **Murugan** » 05 Oct 2010 13:45

Silver in 50 metre Pistol Shooting
Total 2-3-2 = 7

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 05 Oct 2010 14:00

Aussies continue their national past time of whining non stop

http://sports.rediff.com/report/2010/oc ... remony.htm

"Steve Moneghetti and I were upset about this and we spoke to the officials and said my complaint was that the organisers did not treat the athletes in the proper manner.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 05 Oct 2010 14:06

all our wrestlers in finals !

the CWG website doesn't update the medals tally quickly enough.

amit · Post by **amit** » 05 Oct 2010 14:07

Tanaji wrote:Aussies continue their national past time of whining non stop

http://sports.rediff.com/report/2010/oc ... remony.htm
"Steve Moneghetti and I were upset about this and we spoke to the officials and said my complaint was that the organisers did not treat the athletes in the proper manner.

Apparently the complaint was they were treated like cattle. Being Aussies they would know, right!

Kanishka · Post by **Kanishka** » 05 Oct 2010 14:11

Lalmohan wrote:i would like someone who better understands the media to test this hypothesis
so far high end UK papers and BBC are 'mostly' providing +ve coverage and comment
BBC has been sending out good pics, particularly the opening ceremony
most -ve comment has been coming from newspapers and channels owned by newscorp (murdoch)
i suspect that underneath this there is also an element of BBC winning global broadcasting rights and newscorp losing out which is leading to -ve media coverage
no doubt newscorp refused to pay BBC for footage of ceremony, and hence is not broadcasting/publishing it

moral of the story (amongst many others) is that GOI needs to get smarter about managing the global media

Lalmohanji, I am no expert on media, just an observer but in my humble opinion there is more to it than just media rights, though it is one important issue no doubt.

I have seen very negative BBC report even the day after the opening ceremony.
Michael Fennell was being interviewed and the reporter kept on asking him how much
"damage" India has done to the commonwealth and if there was any future after
this "Indian experience."

Later on the same day BBC aired a programme on some very poor people displaced because of the CWG.

I dont know how much coverage BBC gave to the opening ceremony in its news/ other programmes. Not many people watch BBC here.

I have access to ITV, SKY, Prime and Fox, Channel 7, (TV3 TV One in NZ) and some other channels and I have followed their coverage keenly.

My impression ( this is my impression onlee) is that there was an organised attempt by the media to malign India.

It is surprising, because as a democratic country one would have expected India to get a favourable coverage.

The question is Why? Probably there is more than one reason: Some possible reasons.

1. CWG gives a strong boost to the economy of the host country. In its entire history CWG has been hosted only 3 times outside of
(UK, Canada, Australia and NZ). India is a new and powerful competitor. So malign India and keep India out of the hosting business.

2. Media rights as you have pointed out.

3. India' soft power: They are genuinely afriad of India's increasing cultural influence.

4. Racism: They see India as a market and nothing more. We are good but never good enough. Can you imagine a tv reporter throwing mud on the walls in the village to show how dirty the Village is?
I hear that the BBC pictures of the bathrooms was taken a month before it was published.

Just my thoughts..

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 05 Oct 2010 14:29

kanishka - all reasonable points
i also think that the western media likes to play up 'third world' problems more, because it gives their home viewers more to hook into and engage with... and so boost ratings
good news stories don't attract eyeballs nearly as much as bad news stories
and yes, there has been a lot of -ve on bbc, but it has been more targetted than the blanket -ve on newscorps channels/outlets
worth keeping an eye on
perhaps we can keep a log on BRF?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 05 Oct 2010 14:42

CWG is expensive, I doubt canada and NZ have much of a stomach or people's support to spend billions on CWG. england will need to break the piggy bank bigtime to host olympics in 2012...though by doing a shakedown act on the crooks and hedge funds loitering there, they can raise some funds. australia does have the money by exporting lots of minerals to china, but its basically a collection of 5 big cities who can be potential hosts...sydney may not have the stomach for it anymore. melbourne, perth, adelaide,brisbane...

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 05 Oct 2010 14:46

and ofcourse, newscorp is aussie owned...

Kanishka · Post by **Kanishka** » 05 Oct 2010 14:46

Lalmohan wrote:kanishka - all reasonable points
i also think that the western media likes to play up 'third world' problems more, because it gives their home viewers more to hook into and engage with... and so boost ratings
good news stories don't attract eyeballs nearly as much as bad news stories
and yes, there has been a lot of -ve on bbc, but it has been more targetted than the blanket -ve on newscorps channels/outlets
worth keeping an eye on
perhaps we can keep a log on BRF?

Good idea!. Let me know what to do.

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 05 Oct 2010 14:49

whenever you find a news report, log the source and see if you can find out who the owner is
we can keep a log of awful - bad - poor - neutral - fair - warm - good - enthusiastic
(i say we... but a volunteer is needed, i don't have the time or access facilities)

Kanishka · Post by **Kanishka** » 05 Oct 2010 14:52

Singha wrote:CWG is expensive, I doubt canada and NZ have much of a stomach or people's support to spend billions on CWG. england will need to break the piggy bank bigtime to host olympics in 2012...though by doing a shakedown act on the crooks and hedge funds loitering there, they can raise some funds. australia does have the money by exporting lots of minerals to china, but its basically a collection of 5 big cities who can be potential hosts...sydney may not have the stomach for it anymore. melbourne, perth, adelaide,brisbane...

Hamilton (Canada) lost out to Delhi for the 2010 games.
NZ is hosting the rugby world cup this year.
Gold Coast is bidding for the 2018 games.

They do like to spend whenever they can to support their stagnant economy and growth rate.

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 05 Oct 2010 14:53

Lalmohan ji, I think it is the tendency to be MUTU (More UQ than UQ itself) for Murdoch's in particular and Oceania in particular.

They have avoided the recession by the skin of their teeth (whereas UQ wasnt so fortunate) and that arrogance is coming to play here. UQ also harbors some residual love for its old empire and colonies whereas the Oceania backwaters do not have any such hang-ups. Also, we could consider the recent David Cameron visit to desh where he seemed sincere and wanted to warm up to India.

UQ is having some serious breathing problems (that is evident through the attire that the English atheletes had on for the Opening Ceremony), there is a large segment within UQ that realizes that rubbing India the right way starting from the CWG may give them sops (and hope) in the future.

Of course, BBC as a broadcasting network has got sub-networks sponsored by Oz and Amirkhan (read NYT mould) mining multimillionaires (DeBeers, Anglo-American etc). So you see the occasional stinger missile attacks as opposed to the constant -ve barrage by the Perth based media organisations.

Kanishka · Post by **Kanishka** » 05 Oct 2010 14:55

Lalmohan wrote:whenever you find a news report, log the source and see if you can find out who the owner is
we can keep a log of awful - bad - poor - neutral - fair - warm - good - enthusiastic
(i say we... but a volunteer is needed, i don't have the time or access facilities)

No problemo! Do I post it on BRF and if so which thread?

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 05 Oct 2010 14:58

^^^ may as well use this thread - adminullah's fatwah is required though

meanwhile...Indian fans need to get involved

I mentioned in my previous blog how I feared that there had been so much negative publicity about these Games during the past few weeks that it would be very hard for Delhi to turn the corner and begin generating a positive flow of news.

The opening ceremony helped the cause but the fuss around the boxing weigh-in - when the scales were found to be inaccurate, forcing a day's delay - emphasise my point.

If the Games had been going well, then negative stories like this might well have been lost. But once things start to go badly, difficulties tend to stand out. People often appear much quicker to criticise when they believe that they are not in the minority.

There is nothing that I would love more than to be able to make my next blog from here a positive one. Delhi still has time. These are India's first Commonwealth Games. If they are to be a success, then the Indian people need to get behind them.

Nearly everybody who has ever visited India will vouch for the fact that the Indian people are special, friendly, helpful, charming and enthusiastic.

Now is the time for the Indian people to prove that they can be passionate sporting spectators. These are Delhi's Commonwealth Games. They are India's. If the Games are to be turned into a success, then I believe the Indian people must play their part.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 05 Oct 2010 14:59

guys, please take the media discussion to the media watch thread.
thanks,
Rahul.

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 Oct 2010 15:16

BD gets onto the medal tally with 1S, 1B whereas the TFTA are still busy fighting with themselves over a flag, IMO!!!

Guess time has come for BD to start referring to the TFTA as a basketcase instead of other way around as till now...

James B · Post by **James B** » 05 Oct 2010 15:26

For people who cannot watch CWG on TV, here is an online stream link

http://www.hqlivesports.net/ch1.aspx

jagga · Post by **jagga** » 05 Oct 2010 15:31

sum wrote:BD gets onto the medal tally with 1S, 1B whereas the TFTA are still busy fighting with themselves over a flag, IMO!!!

Guess time has come for BD to start referring to the TFTA as a basketcase instead of other way around as till now...

1 TFTA = 10 SDRE's

India will win 70 medals - Kalmadi's Word

Therefore,My madrassa math tells me pure’s will finish CWG with 700 medals onlee

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 05 Oct 2010 15:44

england just won 2 golds in swimming - apparently the aussies are very upset

Murugan · Post by **Murugan** » 05 Oct 2010 15:47

(One More silver by Tejaswini Sawant and Lajja?) only IBN flashes this news.

http://results.cwgdelhi2010.org/en/Root.mvc/Medals

shows total 8 medals for Bharat 2-4-2

James B · Post by **James B** » 05 Oct 2010 17:12

Ravinder Singh got a gold in Wrestling 60Kg category.

Jarita · Post by **Jarita** » 05 Oct 2010 17:27

If the powers that be could fool BRFwallahs through the light and noise of the CWG ceremony then what to say
- Almost everything about the show came from those countries - UK, Australia, Italy (we paid 100's of crores to these countries instead of funding our own industry)
- The show was too roughly put together in my opinion

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 05 Oct 2010 17:47

well instead of 22 days practice they got around 2 days per shyam benegal who was a creative director for part of the show.

it is cheaper to import or lease such one-off stuff than pay someone to develop it inhouse at much higher cost. these are not vital things like missiles. if there exist something domestically by all means use it, but stuff like that helium balloon thing are low volume items.

James B · Post by **James B** » 05 Oct 2010 17:51

Another gold for India in wrestling. Sanjay Singh won gold in 74kg category wrestling. So now India has 4 golds.

Edit: India wins another gold in wrestling in 96g category (by Anil kumar). So, 5 golds today.

Venkarl · Post by **Venkarl** » 05 Oct 2010 18:06

In the opening ceremony...I was very happy to see the Indian contingent being led by Mizo lady dressed in cheraw dance costumes...same dance was presented in the beginning of Indian Rail journey...did anybody notice any signs of Arunachal Pradesh's traditions or its culture's display CWG opening ceremony?

Klaus · Post by **Klaus** » 05 Oct 2010 18:14

^^^ At the risk of going OT, there was a discussion going on in the Indo-UK thread (Page 80 through 82 or so) about using the CWG platform (not the Games, mind you) to send subtle messages to China. I think 2 such messages were made w.r.t ArP and Tibet (ArP with the costumes and Tibet through the musical traditions and the reference to Tibetan Buddhism).

Definitely looks like someone in the production design/choreography/program management area lurked and picked up the discussion when it was going on.

BRF: Ahead of the curve onlee

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 Oct 2010 18:28

Nothing beats the goosebumps and tingle in the spine when the national anthem plays in a multi-national event!!!

Go, India go...already 5 golds in 2days..

praksam · Post by **praksam** » 05 Oct 2010 18:34

sum wrote:Nothing beats the goosebumps and tingle in the spine when the national anthem plays in a multi-national event!!!

Go, India go...already 5 golds in 2days..

Latest tally on BBC website.

Looks like they haven't updated yet?

Countries G S B Total
1 Australia 4 5 2 11
2 India 2 2 2 6
3 England 1 4 2 7
4 Canada 1 0 3 4
5 South Africa 1 0 1 2
6 Scotland 1 0 1 2
7 Malaysia 1 0 0 1
8 Nigeria 1 0 0 1
9 Wales 0 1 0 1
10 Bangladesh 0 0 1 1
11 Isle of Man 0 0 0 0
12 Guernsey 0 0 0 0
13 Jersey 0 0 0 0
14 Northern Ireland 0 0 0 0

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 Oct 2010 18:36

IIRC, the 3 golds in wrestling not updated. Disgusting behaviour in 96 Kg final by the Australian ( though actually Iranian) looser. He even refused to shake hands with the winner and referee..

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 05 Oct 2010 18:36

^^^ been too long in aussie land i see!

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 Oct 2010 18:44

^^ Did the white Pacqui/Iranian walk out of the ceremony or was he chucked out?
Didnt see him in the medal ceremony of the 96Kg !!!

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 05 Oct 2010 18:47

So with 5 golds we are above UQ in the table? We usually get left behind when track & field items start. I followed 2002 Manchester CWG as a nanha muj and still remember where we lost steam. Hopefully we will get a better performance this time.

sum · Post by **sum** » 05 Oct 2010 18:48

But, we still have medals to come in boxing, tennis and wrestling ( 2 more) as well as most certain, shooting...So, lots of avenues still left!!!

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 05 Oct 2010 18:54

given the size of teams and events being competed in, realistically we can aim to beat canada for third
whinging cobbers are going to win (and still whinge), pomms will come second most likely

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 05 Oct 2010 19:02

england also tends to win lot of medals in events like rowing, archery, swimming and such in commonwealth context. cycling is another fairly rich place to haul medals.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 05 Oct 2010 19:50

Red faces after President's Secy asked PM to switch seats

Tue, Oct 5 06:19 AM

While the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games went off without any major glitch, a breach of protocol in the royal box by the President's staff has left both the security establishment and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) pretty miffed.

As per the agreed seating arrangement, President Pratibha Patil was to be seated in the centre with Prince Charles to her right and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to her left.

But when the President arrived, a senior member of her staff asked the Prime Minister to shift from his seat to accommodate her husband, Devi Singh Shekhawat.

The presence of personal butlers from Rashtrapati Bhavan in the royal box who served only the President against all planned arrangements has also embarrassed many.

While asking the PM to change seats is itself a breach of protocol as seating arrangements are carefully crafted keeping many factors including security in mind, what has miffed many is that Christy Fernandez, Secretary to President, tapped the Prime Minister on his shoulder to ask him to shift seats.

This act has not gone down well with the PM's security staff.

When contacted, Rashtrapati Bhavan denied that the PM was tapped on the shoulder but sources confirmed that Singh was asked by Fernandez to move from his seat.

As the ceremony began, Shekhawat ended up sitting between President Patil and Prince Charles, leaving little scope for them to interact.

Similarly, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, was to be seated next to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi as per the arrangement decided earlier. But at the last minute, she sat next to the Prince, throwing the entire arrangement into disarray.

The presence of the President's personal butlers in the royal box also embarrassed protocol officers. While it was understood that all top dignitaries would be treated equally, the butlers ended up serving only the President and her husband.

It was only after prompting by senior officials that the butlers were also asked to serve on the Prince and his wife. While Prince Charles declined refreshments, Camilla ended up asking for a glass of water.

saip · Post by **saip** » 05 Oct 2010 19:56

Whats up with the Commonwealth Games web site? They did not update the medals tally still. Is this the official site?

http://results.cwgdelhi2010.org/en/Root.mvc/Medals

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 05 Oct 2010 20:00

Looks like those who worried about the lack of spectators is also worrying the organisers.

CWG | Tuesday, October 5, 2010 |

CWG OC considers giving away free tickets to fill seats
October 05, 2010 8:20:29 PM

PTI | New Delhi

With spectators keeping away, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee is now toying with the idea of filling the venues with school children and people lower strata of society besides setting up ticket boxes outside venues.

At the maiden press conference after the Games kicked off Sunday, it was Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell who first raised the issue of spectator's interest saying a number of venues did not have a lot of spectators and that they like to see that the seats were filled.

On his part, OC Chairman Suresh Kalmadi said that the organisers were contemplating providing free tickets to school children and people from the lower strata of the society and that they have set up ticket boxes outside venues.

Empty stands or sparse crowd had greeted the athletes in almost all the competition venues on the first day yesterday, leaving the organisers a trifle embarrassed. There were complaints yesterday that many people who wanted to watch competitions were turned away from the stadium as they could not buy a ticket.

"We are working on that (providing free tickets). Steps are being taken in this direction. We are also planning to get in people from the lower strata of the society," Kalmadi said.

Fennell and Kalmadi faced a volley of questions on ticketing, which included whether higher prices resulted in interest dropping as well as top athletes pulling out from the event.

Putting the ball in OC's court to draw crowd into the stadium, Fennell said, "we have not done the complete audit of all the venues. The OC is conscious of the situation. It is their concern how these venues are filled. We like to see spectator seats are filled."

Kalmadi had a curious explanation when asked about the absence of ticket counters outside stadium and the OC's decision to set up such facilities from today.

"After the opening ceremony, organisers went back late. There were some problems. Some stalls were not put up. Today situation has been sorted out. Lack of preparation not a problem at all. You will find the crowds from tomorrow," he said.

OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot said 40 ticket counters have been opened across the city. "Around 50 per cent of the tickets have been sold," he said.

At the press conference, Kalmadi said six lakh tickets were sold so far. "It will pick up more. There will be no issues," he said.

"At some venues , the audience number was good. Swimming attracted a lot of crowd. Now we are fully ready. As of today, things are alright. We have set up ticket box offices in all the stadia," Kalmadi said adding "there were big queues yesterday, even upto a mile."

Fennell said he was "very impressed" with Delhiites. "The reception athletes got was tremendous. It warmed the hearts of all the competing athletes," he said while Kalmadi said he was "pretty happy" that the Pakistan contingent got a rousing reception.

We can take the protocol discussion elsewhere. Like Indian Interests thread. I see no issues with the President's entourage.

praksam · Post by **praksam** » 05 Oct 2010 20:15

Dilbu wrote:Did I see some lungi and chappal clad SDRE types on that train? Brilliant. I am happy there was no suit-boot to maalish the gora H&D. And Indian women are gorgeous in sari. I am impressed. Very impressed.

Dilbu saar, I happened to see the ceremony on DVR yesterday and also was very proud. I felt the message was to the people who look down upon us was " We are like this onlee

, what are you gonna do.In-spite of that we are the worlds 4th largest economy and one of the fastest developing country."

I also like the idea of snake charmers playing Been, It was like rubbing into the gora for having the notion of India = The land of the snake charmers doing the magic rope trick.