CYG: Pune starts counting up to 200

Pune, Mar 24 (UNI) Pune has started counting in right earnest with 200 days more to go before the city gets to host the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games at the sprawling Shiv Chhatrapati Sports city near Balewadi here in October.

The Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) 2008 will be the third edition and will be the first to be held in Asia.

Pune earned the honour of hosting the Games through the efforts of city Congress MP Suresh Kalmadi, who is also heading the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), in the face of competition from Hyderabad and Bangalore.

It was at the Annual General Body meeting of the Commonwealth Games Federation on March 26, 2006 in Melbourne that it was decided to entrust the responsibility of hosting the CYG 2008 to India.

Upon receiving the go-ahead, Mr Kalmadi and his team immediately started the preparations. Work on various stadii was taken up in full swing as also the work on building infrastructural facilities.

Competition in nine disciplines of sports will be held and all of them will be held at the same venue. The CYG 2008 will serve as a prelude to the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held at Delhi.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennel had visited Pune and had expressed satisfaction with the preparations.

UNI IS MAZ AB GC2001