Amidst all the political wrangling that is going on, let?s not forget the cardinal truth?that CWG 2010 was a success. And the cardinal truth is that it was so not because of the powers that be, but for the athletes who won India 101 medals and catapulted the nation to the second spot in the medals table, above England, for the first time in Indian sporting history. Besides our athletes, there are a host of other silent hands who helped make this mammoth sporting extravaganza a success. ?

Having personally spoken to numerous athletes who have gone back with very pleasant memories of the Games, it can be ascertained that a large share of the credit goes to the many hundred strong volunteer force who manned the stadiums, the village, the MPC and IBC and other relevant areas with tremendous efficiency and resilience. Advising and guiding these volunteers were the Sahara team led by Abhijit Sarkar and assisted by Sanjay Arora and Pradeep Rai. Working tirelessly for days on end, these men and women, never basking in the limelight, made the Delhi games what they turned out to be?a showcasing of India?s national pride and ability. That there weren?t complaints at the airport, village, the Games hotels and other sites was largely because of the efforts of these men and women. Mention must be made of the angvastras presented to the prize winners, a huge hit at the Delhi Games. Designed by Sangita Welinkar, these are treasures for athletes who managed to lay hands on them.

The other standout feature of the Games was the dining hall at the village. The kind of cuisines on offer, the variety of food available to the sportspeople was better than what most Games villages have seen in history. Said Bruce Kidd, currently chairman of the Commonwealth advisory body on sport, ?Had the work been completed a week earlier, this village could justly have laid claim to be the best-ever in Commonwealth Games history.? And in turning the village around the real credit goes to the on-ground personnel who worked day and night for more than a week to make the athletes comfortable. It is important to state in this context that for the first time in the Games history, athletes had bathrooms to themselves, and on occasions, two athletes had to split use of a bathroom. In Manchester 2002, an example often given of things impeccable, six Indian athletes had to share a bathroom. Said an Indian athlete on the condition of anonymity, ?If we reached the dining hall after 8 pm, food wasn?t available at Manchester. Delhi was so much more relaxed compared to Manchester.?

While conceding that the security was at times excessive and caused much discomfort to spectators, when pitted against the possibility of a terror attack, one is forced to admit that increased security is perhaps the order of the day. Surely the government could have considered using military choppers to allow the organisers to go ahead with the aerial telecast of the opening ceremony, but that it was allowed for the cycle race speaks volumes of the cooperation the government extended to the organisers. At the same time, we would have been better served if the public was allowed to witness the cycle race, especially with stars like Mark Cavendish gracing the tracks in Delhi. With only the military and the police in attendance, the race lost a lot of its sheen.

Finally, to return to the theme of this piece. India, to our great satisfaction, has shown the world that it is, indeed, capable of hosting a mega event of a gargantuan scale. However, that shouldn?t encourage us to go ahead with a premature Olympic bid for 2020. For the first time, CWG 2010 has given India the true foundations of a multi-sport culture.

It is time we concentrate on building athletic excellence and nurture athletic talent that will enable us to win many medals at global competitions like the London Olympic Games. As Jacques Rogge said in Delhi, ?It is time the world?s-largest democracy wins many more than one gold medal at the Olympics.? Only then can India aspire to the tag of a sporting nation and in so becoming, can dream of putting together a sustainable bid for the Olympics. The Commonwealth Games came to India prematurely. Hence the controversies in the lead-up to the Games and the cleaning-up act that is going on now. It was nothing short of a miracle that we managed to stage a very good Games. We cannot risk our reputation again with the Olympics. Not with the world?s biggest sports extravaganza being 15 times bigger and more complex than the Commonwealth Games.

?The writer is a sports historian