Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Commonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) chief executive Mike Hooper hit back at Suresh Kalmadi, insisting that ‘he was not going anywhere.’
“I don’t know in what capacity he (Kalmadi) is saying all this — as IOA president or chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC),” Hooper said.
“I am aware both IOA and OC (organising committee) are mirror images of each other. Mr Kalmadi wears many hats and switches them conveniently. Mr Kalmadi is entitled to have his opinion, but this kind of attack is totally uncalled for.”
“I report to the CGF and since my board is happy with me, I am not going anywhere. Mr Kalmadi has called me ‘an impediment’ but the truth is that had I not been here, the preparations would have been lagging even more,” said the New Zealander.
Hooper also accused Kalmadi of using him as a ‘scapegoat’. “Maybe they are looking for a scapegoat. Kalmadi has said things about me before. He thinks that I am giving the CGF an adverse feedback, but I am just trying to tell them the truth.”
Hooper also rubbished organising committee’s fears that the CGF was trying to ‘hijack’ the Games.
“We are not here to hijack anything, we are here to help,” Hooper said. “The CGF has said it will pay for the panel, why should the OC have problems with it then? In fact, if it was any other committee, they would welcome free help of this nature. Irrespective of what he says, Kalmadi and I want the same thing — that India hosts a successful Games. We are in the same team, but he doesn’t seem to realise that.”
The IOA had also objected CGF’s insistence on hiring foreign experts to manage the event.
Hooper said these were just suggestions to ensure that the Games were conducted smoothly.
“We are not telling them who to hire and where to hire from. We just advise them. A lot of time has been wasted — the people we could have got are now working with Vancouver (Winter Games), or London (2012 Olympics). Who will want to work for 11 months? The OC is wasting more time by making such accusations.”
On OC spending “several crore” on his stay in Delhi, “The CGF had relieved the OC of a certain contractual obligation, in which they owed the Federation $460,000. In return, the OC agreed to take care of all the ground costs during my stay in New Delhi. The amount which they claim to be spending on me is almost equal to what the CGF had waived. So there is no question of a financial burden on the OC,” is what Hooper had to say.
First Published: Friday, October 16, 2009, 15:33