NEW DELHI: The Games that very nearly didn't begin have finished with the kind of flourish that was entirely expected in India. There were so many reasons the New Delhi Commonwealth Games were under threat: construction delays meant most venues weren't ready for test events, causing concern about how they'd function and shock for some of the first delegates in the athletes' village when they found excrement in rooms only days before the first athletes were due. Some countries considered withdrawing; some high-profile athletes did. Everyone from the prime minister to Delhi's chief minister suddenly got involved to urge a last-minute blitz to get things done. Apparently it's customary in Indian weddings, which can be large in scale and long in duration, for frenzied preparations to continue right up until a spectacular event. Local organizing committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi used the wedding analogy to try and appease critics who doubted New Delhi could deliver on time, although it didn't diminish the negative attention that tarnished the buildup to the Oct. 3 opening. But Thursday night, with another colorful extravaganza to close the Games 11 days after a spectacular pageant to open them, Indian organizers and Indian people were celebrating a successful conclusion. The Games also had inevitable doping. The Commonwealth Games Federation said Friday a third Nigerian runner failed a doping test - Folashade Abugan was stripped of silver medals in the women's 400 meters and the 4x400-meter relay after testing positive for a steroid. Osayomi Oludamola earlier had her gold medal in the 100m taken away after testing positive to a banned stimulant. Nigerian hurdler Samuel Okon, who did not win a medal, also tested positive, and Indian race walker Rani Yadav tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone after finishing sixth in the 20km event. India finished second on the medal standings behind Australia, overhauling England for No. 2 spot on the final day of competition and winning more medals than ever. The ceremonies drew high praise. There were no terror attacks during Games time. None of the venues collapsed. The monsoon didn't linger and dengue fever didn't plague the village. “Delhi has delivered,” said Commonwealth Games Federation President Michael Fennell, who only two weeks earlier had been critical of the late preparations. “The competitions went well, and it was a comfortable, satisfactory experience. The venues were all of very high standards. I have the highest praise for the security and while it has been too stringent at times, it is better to err on the side of caution.” About 100,000 police and military personnel secured the Indian capital, and security precautions were intense and sometimes stifling. The Commonwealth Games Federation has been criticized for letting local organizers fall way behind in their preparations. The locals came under scrutiny amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement. The collapse of a pedestrian bridge at the main stadium, injuring 27 workers, and the shooting of two Taiwanese tourists at a popular Delhi site in the weeks before the games highlighted potential off-field problems. Empty stadiums at the start of competition exposed what seemed to be a lack of local interest. Fennell said there'd be a complete evaluation of the Games with a view to improvements before the 2014 Games in Glasgow, Scotland. “Aspects of the Games, of course, we will have to evaluate carefully,” he said. “We would need to ensure that we have perhaps in place more safeguards in terms of technology and some of the other areas.” He noted that the adverse publicity before the Games, which gave rise to increased scrutiny of every little glitch during the event, had an impact on New Delhi 2010. For the massive cost of staging the Games, estimated at somewhere between $3 billion and $10 billion depending on which of the much-needed major infrastructure projects are included, India was rewarded with 38 gold medals and 101 overall. Characteristically India waited until the last moment to reach its pre-Games target of being No. 2 in the standings, reaching that mark with two medals in badminton Thursday. England finished with 37 gold medals, failing to pick up any on the last day, and 142 overall. The Australians topped the standings again, with 74 gold medals and 177 overall.
