Curtains drawn on Natl Games

The curtain may have come down on the 32nd National Games but the 10-day sporting extravaganza was only a test-ride. The city of Hyderabad has opened up gates for bigger games and higher accomplishments.

The Prime Minister hit the right chord while heaping praises on the Hyderabad edition and Naidu.

Never before on this soil was there a congregation of this magnitude for a sporting event and never before was there a sports meet as extravagant as the 32nd National Games.

When Kalmadi suggested that the Commonwealth Games and Olympics should be held here he was only stating a fact – no way was he exaggerating. The city’s sporting voyage has just started. The destination is the Olympic Games. Perhaps en route, there could be Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games.

Truly, the 32nd National Gams were the beginning of the beginning.

And to say the beginning was spectacular and successful was to state milk is white. It was unprecedented in the annals of Indian sports history. Ask any one – from Richa Mishra, Shikha Tandon, Jaspal Rana, Gulab Chand, Anju George, Sania Mirza to little known participants like Rajesh Hasdak, Singalamma, Akthari Khanam or Usha – each would say it was the best they have ever seen in the country.

And they all, along with their teams’ contingents, gathered at the superbly decorated G M C Balayogi Stadium, the hub centre of the National Games, to say goodbye to the Games, to Veera to the city on Sunday evening. They were joined in the chorus by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who declared the Games closed and Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Minister of Assam, who has a gargantuan task of making the 33rd National Games, slated to be held in Guwahati in 2005 as good as these Games. If not better.

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai was a special attraction. In the electrical surroundings, she was glinting like the 24 carat gold. Her charming presence had really revved up the proceedings.

The laser show, fireworks, farewell party to Veera, were simply riveting and spell-binding and eye-boggling.

The mega venue was illuminated by a spectrum of colours and lightings. Accompanied by lilting music blared through high-voltage sound system, the ambience looked festive. It looked as if Christmas had come three days in advance.