Radio Security System Trials for CWG to Start Soon

Three months to go for the Commonwealth Games and the Delhi government is finally getting around to putting one of its most anticipated security systems on trial.

According to officials in the government, the much talked about Tetra a radio based secured communications system goes on trial from July. The trials will initially be conducted by the Delhi government and later, other agencies will join in. The system is the backbone of the communications network that will be in place during the Games, making for a seamless patchwork of communication between 18 agencies, including the Delhi police, the Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games, NDMC, MCD, the fire department, and a host of other agencies involved in management of the Games.

The system will also address the security of athletes, delegates and all other VVIPs who will be in the city at the time.

This is the first time the government will be conducting trials of the system. According to sources, Tetra was also used during the Beijing Olympic Games, where the system crashed. However, Delhi government officials dismiss the incident, claiming measures have been taken to tackle such problems.

Said Delhi government IT secretary Savitur Prasad, ‘‘The magnitude of the event is different. Here, the Commonwealth Games are not on the same scale as the Olympics. Besides, we have already addressed the issue, so that redundancy has been built into the system. We don’t anticipate the same problems as Beijing had.’’

Sources say the trials are an important part of the process, as adequate exposure to TETRA is needed to use the system properly, and to anticipate any problems that may crop up. The system, which the Delhi government acquired for Rs 100 crore, will be used extensively during the Games as a secured communications network for security and administrative agencies. Around 10,000 handsets have already been commissioned for use.

Sources said base stations have been set up, and a full-scale trial will be conducted soon in which all concerned agencies will participate.

The handsets will be utilized in various ways, including, for instance, on buses used to ferry athletes or VIPs or to pass on information about security details.

Officials admit the trials are important, especially to address any real-time issues that may crop up. Prasad however insisted that the system was ready to be implemented. ‘‘It’s a security issue, so we wouldn’t like to divulge details. However, I will say the system has been set up and will be operational soon.’’

An overview of Indian Athletes readiness for 2010 Commonwealth Games

The 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games are now exactly a year away. Let us take a look at the Indian teams, their preparations and their medal chances at the mega event.

SHOOTING

Abhinav Bindra, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Samaresh Jung, Gagan Narang, Ronjan Sodhi, Anjali Bhagwat.... the list of India's world-beating shooters is getting longer. So, despite the preparation camp being hampered by the absence of rifle and pistol coaches, an unfinished Delhi range and a nation-wide swine-flu scare, India's shooting fraternity is quietly confident of yet another superlative show at Delhi 2010.

A core group of 150 shooters is toiling hard in the camp, now on in Pune, gunning for the 40 gold medals at stake. They are being put through a series of sessions that is a mix of practice and trial competitions. The shooters' calendar is packed till the Games with four World Cups, a World Championship and the Commonwealth Championship, to be held in Delhi in February, which is expected to give the shooters a dry run. Pistol shooters are still without a coach and rifle shooters are keenly awaiting the arrival of Stanislav Lapidus. The lucky ones are the shotgun shooters who are guided by top coaches Marcello Dradi and Zhang Shan.

Coaches: Marcello Dradi, Zhang Shan (shot gun), Sunny Thomas Last two Games: Manchester 2002: 14-7-3; Melbourne 2006: 16-7-4 Events in the run-up: World Cup final, Asian Airgun championship, World Cup (four events), World Championship, SAF Games, Commonwealth Championships.

Possible medal count: More than Melbourne's tally of 27 medals


BOXING

The Indian boxing federation has created a core group of 44 boxers who are undergoing training at the national boxing camp at Patiala. This group is likely to be pruned after the Nationals in October end. The Nationals will be followed by Super Cup in Mumbai in January which will be a selection ground for the Commonwealth Championships to be held in March in Delhi. The boxers will then be back at the camp till it's time for the final dress rehearsal -- Mini National Games -- at the Talkatora Stadium in July. The final team of 11 will be announced thereafter

Coach: GS Sandhu

Recent Record: 2006 Melbourne: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze. 2002 Manchester: 1gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze. 1998 Kuala Lumpur: 1 silver.

Possible medal count: Although, the federation refused to take names, they are expecting two to three gold medals.


ATHLETICS

Indian athletes have not had much to boast of as far as the Commonwealth Games are concerned, with the country bagging just five medals so far in track and field events since 1978, when the first Games were held. This time, the hosts are hoping for a turnaround in their fortunes. Athletics Federation of India (AFI) officials insist the preparations are on the right track and India could win "six to eight" medals at home. At present 200 athletes are training in three SAI centres -- in Kolkata, Bangalore and Patiala. India is hoping to win medals in discus, shot put, relay races and triple jump.

Last Two Games: Manchester: 0-1-1; Melbourne: 0-2-0

Upcoming: The AFI is expected to release a calendar next month which, it said, will focus on giving athletes proper exposure for 2010.

Possible medal count: Six


BADMINTON

The Indian badminton team hasn't been preparing specifically for the Commonwealth Games and plans of getting the entire contingent to train together under one roof will materialise only a month or two before the event. Till then, the players are free to play the tournaments they want to. They will also be training at their respective bases. National coach Gopi Chand says he isn't too worried about the specific preparations for the Games as his players are doing well on the international circuit.

Coach: Gopi Chand, Hadi Idris (doubles)

Past record (medals): Kingston (Jamaica) 1966: Dinesh Khanna (bronze, men's singles); Edmonton (Canada) 1978: Prakash Padukone (gold, men's singles), Ami Ghia & Kanwal Thakur Singh (bronze, women's doubles); Brisbane (Australia) 1982: Syed Modi (gold, men's singles); Auckland (New Zealand) 1990: Deepti Thanekar (bronze, women's singles); Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 1998: Aparna Popat (silver, women's singles), Gopi Chand (bronze, men's singles), silver, men's team & bronze, women's team; Manchester (England) 2002: Aparna Popat (bronze, women's singles); Melbourne (Australia) 2006: Chetan Anand (bronze, men's singles), India also won bronze in the team event in the combined format.

Upcoming events: Denmark Super Series (Oct 20-25), French Open (Oct 27-Nov 1), Hong Kong Open (Nov 10-15), China Open (Nov 17-22).

Medals expected: Gopi is sure Saina Nehwal will win gold in women's singles. He's also hoping for gold in the mixed doubles as Jwala Gutta and V Diju are in good form.


ARCHERY

The sports ministry has selected a total of 64 archers, in recurve and compound categories, for specialized training for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The training is on at the Sports Authority of India, Eastern Centre at Kolkata. The Archery Association of India (AAI) is planning to trim down the probables list to eight by next month. Going by present form, Indian archers are not doing very well, but there's still time for them to pick up at the right time.

Coach: Limba Ram. This Arjuna award winner missed a medal by only one point in Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

Past record: Archery was included as an optional sport in CWG in Brisbane in 1982. India went medal-less there.

Upcoming: Asian Grand Prix in Dhaka in October this year and the Asian Championship at Bali in November. Next year, India will take part in all the five Archery World Cups.

Medals expected: Mangal Singh Champia plus men's team event in recurve. Ladies compound team event.

Individual event: Jhanu Hansda (compound)


HOCKEY

The women’s hockey team reached new heights with gold medal in the 2002 Games, but all along it has been a struggle for the men’s team. This time, Jose Brasa’s men are preparing in right earnest to make it count. The team, after a long camp, is off to Canada for a seven-Test series. They have a busy calendar in the run-up to the event. The women, on the other hand, are busy honing their skills in Bhopal. Their crucial test will come in the Asia Cup in Bangkok later this year.

Coach: Jose Brasa (men), MK Kaushik (women)

Last 2 Games: Manchester: Gold (women), Melbourne: Silver (women)

Medal expected: 2

Men's calendar: A four-nation invitational tournament, World Cup in March, proposed tour of Europe, Azlan Shah Cup

Women's calendar: Asia Cup in Bangkok


WEIGHTLIFTING

Indian weightlifters have, it seems, been destined to live with the stigma of doping scandals despite stellar performances. So, when India returned with no medals from the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan recently, there was hardly any disappointment. In fact, officials were relieved that no one was caught in the doping net. Though, weightlifters managed to get fourth spot, chief national coach Harnaam Singh took a realistic view: "Frankly speaking, we did not have any chance of winning a medal there. But the upcoming Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia (October 18) will be a big test."

Past record: India has so far won 93 medals in Commonwealth Games so far (33 gold, 39 silver, 21 bronze).

Expected medals: In men's category, VS Rao (56kg) and Ravi Kumar (69 kg) are the top medal contenders. In the women's section, Geeta Rani (75+) and Yumnam Chanu (58kg) will once again be gunning for gold in Delhi.

Weightlifters banned: Edwin Raju and Tejinder Singh tested positive at the 2006 Melbourne while Prameelavalli Bodari and Shailaja Pujari failed dope tests before it and were banned by IWF from the 2006 Games.


SQUASH

The Indian squash team will face some of the best players in the world with traditional powerhouses Pakistan, England, Australia and Canada vying for honours. The national squash federation has picked 15 men and 12 women players in the “core-probables” list and the coaching programme involves training both at the Indian Squash Academy, Chennai and abroad. Besides, the players have been sent for exposure trips to England, Malaysia and Egypt.

Coaches:

National coach: Cyrus Poncha,

Foreign coach: Subramaniam Singaraveloo

Past record: No medals so far.

Expected medals: The hosts will be looking for doubles medals in both men's and women's.


WRESTLING

India is one of the strongest teams among Commonwealth countries in wrestling with challenges likely to come from Canada and Nigeria in some weight categories. Preparatory camps are being held simultaneously at NIS, Patiala, and the SAI centre in Sonepat. The top four wrestlers from last year’s national championships have been selected from each weight category in the men's and women's sections and are undergoing systematic training at the camps. The teams have been taking part in international meets as well as Grand Prix events.

Coaches:

Men’s freestyle: Jagminder,

Men’s Greco-Roman: Har Govind,

Women: PR Sondhi

Past Record: India had a rich haul at the 2002 Manchester Games, winning three gold and three silver. Wrestling didn’t feature in the 2006 Melbourne Games.

Build-up: Commonwealth Championships in December and the Asian Championships in Delhi in May next year.

Possible Medal count: About 10 medals


TABLE TENNIS

China might not be a part of the Commonwealth group of nations, but paddlers of Chinese-origin play for teams like Singapore, Australia, Canada and Scotland. India’s Italian coach Massimo Constantini feels the team should train in China as much as possible to stand a chance against the superpowers. “Even their provincial players are so good. The Chinese have a lot of variety in their play and if our players can get to spar with them regularly, it’ll help us prepare better for the Games,” says Constantini, who will be accompanying the players to Zhengding, China, for a 15-day training camp later this month. Meanwhile, the Indian team has begun its preparations for the Games with regular camps in Pune, Patiala and Ajmer. As of now there are 37 core probables (20 men and 17 women), but Constantini wants to reduce the number to 24 next January.

Coach: Massimo Constantini (Italy), Bhawani Mukherjee (SAI).

Past record (medals): Melbourne 2006: Achanta Sharath Kamal (gold, men's singles); gold, men's team; bronze, women's team. Manchester (England) 2002: 3 bronze (men's singles, men's doubles and men's team)

Upcoming events: Training camp in Zhengding, China (Oct 11-28); English Open (Oct 28-Nov 1); Asian Championship, Lucknow (Nov 16-22); 2010 calendar hasn't been decided

Possible medal count: 4-5 medals. “Sharath (Kamal) and Subhajit (Saha) are expected to get us medals and I'm confident of winning in the women's team event also. We could do well in the women's singles and mixed doubles events too," says Constantini.

SWIMMING

The 2010 Games have opened up a window of opportunities for Indian swimmers. They now figure in more international competitions and train at the bestavailable facilities in foreign countries with the assistance of renowned coaches. The first camp began at the Sports Authority of India (South Centre) campus in Bangalore in January 2008. Later, a 30-member contingent, led by National coach Pradeep Kumar, trained at the High Performance Training Centre in Pretoria (South Africa) while Virdhawal Khade, Sandeep Sejwal and J Agniswhar along with their coach Nihar Ameen went to Europe for training and competitions. The final camp, comprising 30 swimmers, will begin on October 12 in Pune. Another 75-day exposure trip is planned either to the US or Europe. The squad for the Games will be picked in April next year.

Past record: Four swimmers — Rehan Poncha, Arjun Muralidharan, Puneet Rana and Shikha Tandon — participated in the Melbourne Games and returned without any medals. No medals in the previous editions too.

Upcoming events: Asian Indoor Games, Vietnam (October 30); Asian Swimming
Championships (Gungzhou, November 22), SAF Games, Dhaka (January 29)

Possible medal count: Four

THE OTHER DISCIPLINES AT DELHI 2010: Cycling, Gymnastics, Lawn bowls, Netball, Rugby 7s —Anupama Bagri, Biswajyoti Brahma, Leslie Xavier, Biju Babu Cyriac, TA Ameerudheen, Ruhi Batra, Arghya Ganguly, Gaurav Kanthwal


TENNIS

Not a regular feature in Commonwealth Games, India lobbied hard to include tennis in the list for 2010. With the emergence of young stars like Sania Mirza, Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri to give company to old hands Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, the Indian tennis contingent holds the promise of more than one gold medal.

While the big stars keep themselves busy playing on the ATP and WTA Tour, it's the rest of the 40-player strong probables list that is put through the paces at training camps and ITF events held in India and abroad. The probables have been training under the watchful eyes of former Davis Cup players and now competent coaches, Jaideep Mukherjea, Nandan Bal, Enrico Piperno, Arun Kumar Singh and Nitin Kirtane. Doug McCurdy from the ITF, who is credited with revolutionising tennis in China, has been appointed as the foreign consultant for Indian tennis with a special focus on the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In addition, month-long training camps have been organised at the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy, the champions-producing tennis factory.

Possible medal count: Five gold medals are on offer at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and two medals, in the doubles and mixed doubles, are expected. Devvarman (below) is a strong contender for a medal while Sania Mirza can never be ruled out.

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/

HDTV Floods Indian Market in Purview Of 2010 CWG

Nearly five years after High-Definition (HD) televisions flooded the Indian market, viewers are finally set to get a taste of high-definition television viewing . This, as HD-enabled MPEG 4 set-top boxes that enable HD content to play on these televisions, were so far absent in the Indian market.

The Tamilnadu based DTH player, Sun Direct, which claims to be the second largest DTH player in the country with an active subscriber base of 3.1 million, has altered the scenario. By launching Sun Direct HD, the player, which will continue to offer its non-HD DTH services, has become the first service provider in India to offer high-definition viewing television services.

The less than two-year old company, which has so far incurred ‘expected’ cumulative annual losses of Rs. 450 crore and is looking to break-even in the next four to five years, is banking on the niche HD service as one of the offerings that will help in achieving its target of three million additional customers in FY 2009-’10.

Though Tony D’Silva, COO, Sun Direct, admitted at a press conference held in Mumbai that the penetration of DTH is higher and semi-rural and rural areas where cable network faces several hindrances as compared to metros like Mumbai and Delhi, he added that target clients belonged to Segment A and B in metros and big cities.

Justifying the decision to offer HD-enabled MPEG 4 set-top boxes imported from Samsung to the viewers at a cost of Rs 10,000, D’Silva said, “The HD-viewing experience is definitely a niche offering. With LCD sales set to touch the 1.5 million mark this financial year, we are looking at capturing 20 per cent of these LCD owners for our subscriber base. As for the next financial year, the government’s decision to offer a HD broadcast of the 2010 Commonwealth Games should popularise the format to a great extent.

Also, as we have seen in the past, LCD televisions as well as the HD set-top box are bound to see a fall in prices, thus attracting more customers. As for the monthly fees, it is an affordable Rs 100, available as an addition to our basic packs.”

For those new to the term, high-definition viewing typically refers to five times sharper picture quality; a more effective, CD-like sound quality in the form of 5.1 channel Dolby and a 16:9 aspect ratio that allows for wide-angle viewing and thus makes the viewer’s more ‘real’.

However, contrary to the belief of most anticipating it would be adventure and lifestyle channels as well as news channels that would make for initial HD content in India, it will be Tamil and Telugu movie channels, one each, that will serve as the first HD broadcasters in India.

Elaborating on the content plan, D’Silva said, “We are looking at launching the Sun Direct HD in two phases that will be spread out across the ongoing financial year. In the first phase, we will be able to launch four channels without increasing our transponder capacity.

These four channels include two movie channels, one each in Tamil and Telugu, offering HD-compatible films from SUN TV’s library to kick-start operations. In fact, we plan to add four new movies every month to this already well-stocked library.” Not a surprising strategy when 85 per cent of the DTH player’s clientele are viewers in South India.

However, having started its pan-India roll-out in September last year, it has also entered into an agreement with the National Geographic Channel (NGC) for bringing one of its HD channels onto the platform. Though the NGC is in the process of acquiring a license for facilitating HD broadcast for four of its channels – Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Music, Nat Geo Adventure and Nat Geo HD in India, limited transponder capacity will see Sun Direct HD going ahead with just one for its first phase.

A plan to develop a library for Hindi films shot on HD and subsequently initiating an exclusive channel for the same is on the anvil as well. But this is likely to take anywhere between three to six months, admitted V. Narayan, Head-Marketing, Sun Direct.

As for the second phase, for which the provider will have to get permission for increasing transponder capacity, a clear content strategy is yet to be derived upon. Perhaps, news channels like INX news, which have shifted to the HD format and channels like Star TV (which opted for HD for the latest version of Mahabharata), could make for potential choices.

Planning For Employing Israelis Security Agencies for 2010 Commonwealth Games

Unshackling itself from a security plan confined to government agencies, the Organizing Committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi is actively pursuing the idea of involving international private security professionals, even reaching out to the Israelis.

“With over a dozen main venues and many other training venues to guard, that too with multi-layered security, the task of securing the Games would be enormous. While the Home Ministry and Delhi Police are handling overall security, the need to rope in private players has now been acknowledged,” an official of the Organizing Committee told The Indian Express.

The International Security and Defense Systems (ISDS), an Israeli security firm, has already initiated talks with the Government, offering its services for the Games. Set up by former operatives of the Mossad and Israel Defense Forces, the ISDS has been involved in securing the Olympics in Barcelona, Sydney, Athens and Beijing.

“The Games are the face of your society. And the threat is very serious, especially after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. India is surrounded by a lot of enemies and Pakistan and Afghanistan will be in a terrible situation next year,” says Leo Gleser, president of ISDS who delivered a talk today on “Games Security” at a conference on Counter Terror & Security Solutions for India.

He said threats to the Games ranged from aircraft as WMDs to terrorists from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Michael Skinner aiming for Commonwealth Games

Michael Skinner ended the year on a high as he helped Great Britain to a bronze medal in the European Cross Country Championships and is now setting his sights on the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The 29-year-old, from West Wickham, finished 20th in the European Championships in Brussels last Sunday, helping Great Britain clinch a team bronze behind Spain and France. He was also joined by fellow Blackheath and Bromley athlete Scott Overall who finished 39th.

Skinner was delighted to pick up a medal after missing out last year when Great Britain finished fourth.

He said: “I was pleased with my performance but more importantly as a team we finished with a medal. I ran solidly - nothing out of my skin - but it is always rewarding to run for your country as part of a team.

“I am already looking to next year’s event. After missing out on a medal in fourth place for the last two years I hope we can go even better than bronze and bring back a silver medal.”

Skinner hopes to focus on his track career in 2009 as he aims to make the England 5K team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi in India.

He added: “I don’t what to tie myself down to cross country and I hope to get back on the track in the New Year.

“Obviously there is the World Championships coming up in August next year and I would love to be a part of that. It would be a big step for to get involved in that.

“I have just changed my coach and things are going well and my target at the moment is to be named in the team for Commonwealth Games in 2010.”

Etiquette and English training for service personnels ahead of Commonwealth Games

Cab drivers, waiters and security staff are among those being trained in the English language and international etiquette as Delhi gets ready to host a rush of foreign visitors during the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
There are around 20,000 cab drivers in the city, out of whom around 1,500 drive radio cabs. Most of them have not studied beyond Class 10. So an English language and etiquette training is very necessary for them, so that they can easily interact with the tourist and serve them better.
A capacity building programme (CBP) has been implemented by the Ministry of Tourism with the help of Delhi government for those people who have to frequently interact with tourists.
For the past two years, the city cab drivers have been undergoing training to learn to speak English. Under the CBP over 2,000 cab drivers in the city have been trained in basic spoken English so far besides waiters, security staff and gatemen been told about hygiene and politeness.
From April onwards, an estimated 1,000 people every month has been undergoing basic training under CBP in the city. By March 2009, probably all the people associated with hotels, tour operators, and travel agents will be covered under this program.
All the registered tour and travel operators and every major hotel in the city is advised to make their drivers and service staffs available for training, Tour and travel operators are also happy over the government's move, but recommend a proactive approach ahead of the Games starting October 2010.
Many cab operators are, however, making their own arrangements to help the drivers learn spoken English. They feel they should not be dependent on government efforts alone.
While the initiative is mainly focused on Delhi,those cities will also be covered which are most probable touring spots for the visitors and tourists who come to attend the Games. These cities and regions are Agra and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Gaya in Bihar and Puri in Orissa.