Click to play videoKuwait: The city of Incheon in South Korea will host the 2014 Asian Games after beating New Delhi in the final round of voting in Kuwait.
As a shattered Indian Olympic Assciation came to grips with the loss, many are now pointing fingers at Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer.
"The city who will host the Asian Games in 2014, the city of Incheon, Korea," announced OCA chief Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd on Tuesday.
It was an announcement that sunk a billion dreams. Incheon will host the 2014 Asian Games, beating New Delhi. It was a closely contested battle, and the glum faces said it all. The Indian Olympic Association had been confident of winning the bid.
"It surprised me, because I thought that India had made a tremendous presentation, they did a good campaign. It wasn't lacking anywhere," Randhir Singh, the Secretary General of the IOA told CNN-IBN.
The Koreans presented their bid first. Their presentation focussed on their excellent track record in hosting such games. Korea has hosted the Olympics, the Asian Games in Seoul in 1986 and Busan in 2002, and the FIFA World Cup in 2002 as well. They even promised a sum of $20 million to be distributed to every Asian country as part of training expenses.
"Incheon is a well-prepared city, we have modern infrastructure and big airports, and access is more convinient. And also Korea's experience to hold many big sporting events," Shin Tong Suk, the Chairman of the Incheon Bid Committee, said.
The Indian bid matched the Korean bid in terms of infrastructure and they even offered $2,00,000 to every country as part of training expenses. New Delhi's bid highlighted the existing and upcoming infratsructure for the Commonwealth Games. But it wasn't enough.
"The feeling was that we had put up a very, very good show. But I don't know, it's for the judges really to have decided. On what basis they decided, I can't answer all that. But I think the show was good, it was spirited," Delhi Cheif Minister Shiela Dixit said.
But the IOA is upset with Sports Minister Mani Shanker Aiyer for his comments which they feel may have had an adverse effect on the bidding process. Aiyer had said last week that the Games were of no good to the common man.
"There were too many stories going around that 'India is a divided house', 'the Sports Minister does not want something', they are all in the Gulf News and the Kuwait News. So we couldn't fight that," IOA President Suresh Kalmadi said.
Sport is all about winning and losing. The Indian Olympic Association may have lost the bid, but it can hold its head high. There was a smear campaign. But in the end, there are lessons that have to be learnt.
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