India’s Hosting Capabilities Hit Again After National Games Issues

The organising of major sporting events in India has come in for yet more scrutiny after the National Games organisers came in for criticism following a number of major problems reported over the first two days of the event in Ranchi.

According to The Times of India, medstore media facilities did not work for hours, symptoms security check points were overwhelmed by spectator numbers and there were no tables or seats for the judges at the taekwondo competition, with T Praveen Kumar, the Taekwondo Federation of India Secretary General furious with the lack of facilities at his sport’s competition.

Kumar told reporters: “Only tall claims were made by organisers. What could be worse than judges not being provided with chairs for the matches?”

The National Games finally started on Saturday after being postponed six times due to incomplete infrastructure, but the latest news will further damage India’s event-hosting image after problems engulfed the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and more recently, issues regarding the preparations of stadia for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup.