DELHI DIARY
The XIX Commonwealth Games has come close to end and the Games Village as well as the venues wore a deserted look with athletes and volunteers bidding goodbye to each other.
Most of the international delegates and athletes, who already completed their events, left the Games Village though many foreign players and delegates spent their time visiting the historic places in India as well as collecting souvenirs for their loved ones from different markets where volunteer booths have been set up for help.
The Game Village's international zone which houses recreational facilities like cafe, stores, bar, restaurant, discotheques, games parlours and hair cut salons had few visitors on the penultimate day of the Games. Security personnel also appeared to be a slightly relaxed as fewer visitors were expected for Thursday.
THREE POSITIVE TESTS
As many as 1,300 samples have been collected and tested during the Games and out of those three athletes tested positive till the penultimate day.
Rani Yadav, an Indian race walker, was the third athlete to test positive after two Nigerians -- sprinter Osayemi Oludamola and hurdler Samuel Okon -- were found positive in the previous two days.
"I think that everyone is concerned about this. But I think three positive tests out of 1,300 is not a bad record either. We have to live in reality," said Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennel while addressing a routine press conference at the main press centre yesterday.
ASHA IN TOP TEN
Armin Asha could finish among the top ten shooters, but her compatriots Ramjan Ali and Abdullah Hel Baki produced yet another frustrating performance on the concluding day of shooting events at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range yesterday.
Asha finished ninth out of 24 competitors in the women's 10m air pistol event with a total score of 371 after shooting 94, 93, 95 and 89 respectively in four series.
In singles 50m rifles prone event, Ramjan became 28th among 38 shooters with a score of 579 in qualification round while Baki finished 32nd scoring five points less than Ramjan.
CASH BONANZA
After winning a medal in the Commonwealth Games on home soil, Indian athletes have been promised to give different awards from their respective federations, offices and states previously. And now the central government has joined the party to announce more cash awards for the winning athletes.
India have already surpassed their Manchester Games haul of 30 gold medals on Tuesday and the government stepped into the picture, promising 20 lakh rupees each to gold medalists, 10 lakh rupees to silver medalists and 6 lakh for bronze.
FOREIGN JOURNOS STAYING BACK
The several hundred foreign journalists covering the Commonwealth Games in Delhi are not leaving India immediately after the event, according to a local media report.
From the chances of getting a glimpse of Rajasthan's royal palaces to visiting Kolkata's Durga Puja celebrations from October 13 to 17, the pleasure trips are about to begin.
According to a government official, more than 630 foreign journalists from various Commonwealth countries are accredited to cover the Games.
GANDHI SOUVENIR ON OFFER
Indian handicrafts, such as rose buds dipped in silver, shawls, decoration pieces and collectibles sporting Mahatma Gandhi, are on offer for foreign athletes and delegates at the Commonwealth Games.
Indian Duty Free Services, the country's largest duty free retail operator located at the newly- built Terminal 3 of the airport, is hosting a Gandhi collection. Titled 'The Eternal Gandhi', the collection is part of an initiative by the Aditya Birla Group and has Gandhiji's statue from the Gandhi Smriti museum.
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