Suresh Kalmadi booed at CWG closing ceremony

New Delhi, Oct 15: The international athletes and Commonwealth Games Federation may have enjoyed their stay in Delhi, but Indians have not yet forgiven Suresh Kalmadi for the series of scandals that hit the Delhi Games before it kick started. This was made evident at the closing ceremony when the crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium booed the Organising Committee chief.

Kalmadi was greeted with loud booing from the packed stadium on Thursday, Oct 14 when he came up to make a speech marking the end of the 12-day multi-discipline sporting event.

Besides jeering at Kalmadi when he reached the mike to begin his speech, the spectators also made their displeasure with the controversial Organising Committee loud and clear when the chief thanked his colleagues.

The mention of the name - Lalit Bhanot, secretary general of the Organising Committe and its unpopular spokesman - prompted the loudest boos.

Kalmadi had apparently written down a long list of names he wished to thank at the ceremony. However, he was forced to rush through due to the negative feedback.

However, there were cheers for Kalmadi's praise of the people of Delhi, mention of achievements of Indian athletes, Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikhsit, and the Army, which had in the last minute stepped in to save the face of India to re-build a collapsed bridge at the stadium.

OneIndia News