New Delhi: Other than the controversy-ridden events preceding the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi that concluded on Friday, there were some embarrassing moments during the Games as well that left the Organising Committee red-faced and with many questions to answer.
Leaving behind the incomplete work and initial uninhabitable conditions in the Games Village, lets take a look at some of the unanticipated incidents that also damaged the hosts' image.
Akhil Kumar's broken bed
There couldn't have been a worse welcome in the Games Village for the Indian team that looked for some rest after checking into their swanky rooms. Shock was sent across the whole contingent when ace boxer Akhil Kumar looked to lie down for some rest in his room, only to find his bed collapsing. Reason: Part of the bed had no plywood!
Faulty weighing scales at the boxing arena
The weigh-in ahead of the Commonwealth Games boxing competition became a scene of chaos when the Australian team claimed the machines to be faulty. The complaint of the Aussies was that they were getting incorrect readings, which forced an escalated workout for its boxers to make the cut for their respective categories. However, the Technical Delegate for the event slammed any such complaints.
Snake in the CWG Village
If a broken bed welcome the Indian contingent, the South Africans had reptiles waiting for them in the residential towers ear-marked to house them. A snake was found in one of the rooms, which was confirmed by the South African High Commissioner to India, Harris Mbulelo Mejeke. Thankfully, the snake was checked out before the South African contingent checked in.
Condoms blocking toilets
Hard to fathom whether condoms blocking toilets in the Games village is a positive news or an embarrassing one. But the Commonwealth Games Federation Chief, Michael Fennell, termed it a "positive" story, saying it indicated athletes are creating AIDS awareness and promoting safe sex.
Athletes receive free condoms at every Games Village to help raise awareness about AIDS.
Freak accident of Ugandan officials
Uganda chef-de-mission William Tumwine, Administrative Officer Iren and Press Attache Juliet were involved in a freak accident during the Games when sudden brakes led to their official car hitting the underground sharp metal stoppers that popped up the car was entering the Village.
The Ugandan sports minister Charles Bakkabulindi demanded an apology from the Indian authorities, which was promptly obliged by the Organising Committee Chairman, Suresh Kalmadi, who apologised for the unfortunate incident.
Contaminated pool water
'Delhi Belly' allegedly struck some of the swimmers who were part of the Aquatics event held at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Aquatics Complex.
The British and Australian swimming squads were the worst hit. Leading English swimmer Francesca Halsall fell ill during an event that she was tipped to win. The participants blamed it on the contaminated water, after which the Commonwealth Games Federation launched an inquiry into the issue.
Doping
The Games remained dope-free until the fag end of the 13-day-long event when four athletes - three from Nigeria and one from India - failed their dope tests. While Nigeria's Osayomi Oludamola was stripped of her gold medal in the 100 metres, Folashade Abugan's positive test led to Nigeria losing a silver in the women's 4x400m relay.
Another Nigerian athlete, hurdler Samuel Okon, was also tested positive for a banned substance.
India's magnificent performance in the Games got tainted when race-walker Rani Yadav returned a positive dope result after finishing sixth in the 20-km walk event.
Ticket non-availability
The biggest disappointment, though, came at the 'Box Office.' While many of the arenas wore a deserted look, general public kept complaining about non-availability of tickets. The matter was taken up seriously the Games Federation that launched an inquiry into the matter after reports of tickets and passes being sold in the black market.
The Organising Committee its in-charge of the ticketing function in the OC and shifted the ticketing operations from the OC headquarters to Ashok Hotel. There were three ways of buying tickets: online, from the Games venues and from some ticketing outlets.
In the end, though, the Games were a rousing success but the credit for that goes to the athletes, who won 38 Gold Medals and subsequently a second-place finish for India on the medals tally. That surely turned it around for 'Incredible India!'
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