Commonwealth Games Set to Begin in Delhi

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be taking place in New Delhi, India from October 3rd through October 24th. These, the 19th Commonwealth Games, will comprise 72 competing nations this time around. The games are held every four year. This time New Delhi beat out Hamilton, Canada for the hosting honors.

There are 17 competitions planned for the event. A number of Muslim countries will be competing, including Bangladesh, Brunei, Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Singapore. Leading up to the start of the festivities a number of issues have popped up, including bad weather, infrastructural problems, delays and reported hygiene issues involving the Games Village, and the withdrawal of several prominent athletes. This has led to some criticism of the organizers, but the games are still scheduled to begin on time.

Several of the prominent Muslim athletes who will be in attendance include Pakistani tennis sensation Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, Canadian squash player Shahier Razik, and Pakistani boxer Haroon Khan (brother of WBA junior lightweight champion Amir Khan). In addition, the host country will boast a few prominent Muslim competitors including ladies’ tennis player Sania Mirza and male track athlete Abdul Najeeb Qureshi. This will be India’s largest sporting event since the 1982 Asia Games.

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