Test event draws poor response as top stars stay away

The delay in completion of venues has not only denied valuable practice to the Indian athletes but also deprived them of a chance to compete against the top foreign players in the test events for the Commonwealth Games.

Top Australian cyclists were to participate in the three day cycling test event but pulled out as they had apprehensions about the completion of the velodrome at the Indira Gandhi sports complex.

Australia has sent a regional team from Perth to participate in the cycling test event, most of whom don’t even make it to the national development squad.

“ We were told that this venue would be ready by May but it did not happen. Our national cyclists were not even sure whether the tournament would take place, so they preferred to pull out,” Australia coach Bob Barnes told Mail Today on Saturday.

“ This was the only set of cyclists who were free right now so we decided to come with them. This is a regional team based in Western Australia and only a couple of them are in the development squad,” he said.

Barnes was also quick to point out a few improvements that can be made in the newly constructed velodrome, which he said was as good as the one used at the Sydney Olympics.

“ I think this is a very good venue and the track is also very fast. It’s even better than what we had during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. I think it can definitely be compared to the one in Sydney,” he noted.

“ I think the ramp on either sides of the velodrome needs to have a few changes. It is fine when the cyclists are moving out on the track but when they finish off their races, they have to pick their cycles up and take a turn to go inside the velodrome,” he pointed. On Friday, the Australian team had to wait for close to two hours in their team bus before leaving for their hotel after event was over.

Barnes said one of the cyclists was being dope- tested and the other team members had to wait for him as the organisers did not have an alternate transportation facility for the cyclist.“ I have told the tournament director about what happened last night. We don’t have a problem with dope tests. It is a long procedure and can take any number of hours.

“ The whole team cannot wait for one player so I have told the tournament director to arrange for a separate car for that player,” he said. Barnes however, had words of praise for the Indian cyclists and said he was amazed to see their talent.

“ We did not have much idea about the Indian cyclists because we have hardly seen them at competitions. We regularly compete against cyclists from Malaysia and Chinese Taipei but haven’t heard much about Indians. “ It feels great to see them here and I am sure with this beautiful venue, they will make good progress in the coming years,” he said.

Farhan wins gold in Keirin race Malaysian Farhan Amri Zaid bagged the only gold on offer on Saturday while his compatriot Faiz Syarifuddin Kadir took the bronze in the men’s Keirin race.

Australian Stephen Hall finished second to take home the silver medal.

While the Indian boys had a lean day, the likes of Rameshwari Devi, Mahitha Mohan and Rajani Vijaykumari made it to the semi- finals of the women’s sprint race that will take place on Sunday.