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| November 14, 2006 | Tuesday | Shawwal 21, 1427 |
India confident of getting 2014 Asian Games
NEW DELHI, Nov 13: India's sports chief on Monday expressed confidence his country will win the contest to host Asian Games in 2014, after an evaluation visit by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
“We are certainly the favourites and I am confident we will get the Games,” Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief Suresh Kalmadi told AFP at the end of a two-day tour by the OCA's evaluation committee.
The Indian capital New Delhi is competing with the South Korean city of Incheon for the right to hold Asia's showpiece sports event in 2014.
The OCA will vote on the venue next April, and Kalmadi said New Delhi deserved to host its third Asian Games after the inaugural event in 1951 and 1982.
“New Delhi has proved itself in the past and the infrastructure will already be in place for the 2014 Games since we are hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2010,” he said.
India is also banking on the fact that another South Korean city (Busan) hosted the four-yearly Asian Games in 2002.
The five-member delegation of the OCA evaluation committee told reporters it was satisfied by New Delhi's bid.Delegation chief Celso Dayrit of the Philippines said he was “overwhelmed with the presentations and the unity shown by the stakeholders in their effort to get back the Asian Games.”
Haider Farman of Bahrain, who participated as an athlete in the 1982 Games in New Delhi, was equally impressed. “I came here as an athlete once and now return as a part of the delegation. I must say that I am convinced New Delhi can host the Games again,” he said.—AFP
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