Vijender, Suranjoy get first round bye

World No.1 Vijender Singh and Asian champion Suranjoy Singh got a first round bye Monday in the draw of lots in the boxing event at the Commonwealth Games here, while defending gold medallist Akhil Kumar would begin his campaign against Qadir Khan of Pakistan later this week.

Only two pugilists, Commonwealth champion Amandeep Singh and former Asian bronze medallist Manoj Kumar would be seen in action in the first round here Tuesday.

Amandeep Singh will take on Peter Warui of Kenya in the light fly weight 49kg category while Manoj faces Daniel Lassayo of Sierra Leone in the light welterweight 64kg category in the afternoon session.

Olympic and World Championship bronze medallist Vijender (75kg) will face Kenyan Dick Ombaka here Friday. Vijender will attempt to become the third Indian boxer after Akhil (2006) and Mohammad Ali Qamar (2002) to win a gold at the Commonwealth Games. In the last Games in Melbourne, Vijender won the silver.

For Akhil, the challenge will be to retain his gold in the bantam weight (56kg) against Qadir Khan in the opening round. Even if Akhil gets through the first round, he will face 20-year-old English boxer Iain Weaver, who had defeated the Indian in the very opening round of the Commonwealth Championships in March.

Suranjoy Singh will face Manyo Plange of Ghana in the second round of the fly weight (52kg) category while Jai Bhagwan, who also got a bye in the first round, will face Colan Caleb of Nauru in the second round of the light weight (60kg) division, Wednesday.

Nine-time national champion Dilbagh Singh (69kg) will throw his punches at Viliami Latu of Tonga and in the light weight 81kg, Arjuna awardee Dinesh Kumar will face Obed Mwakongo of England.

Batonbearers excited ahead of Queen's Baton relay

The air was thick with anticipation as Batonbearers from India and Britain chosen to feature in the launch Queen's Baton Relay 2010 on Thursday gathered at the official hotel of the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi on Wednesday.

Lord Sebastian Coe, a two-time Olympic Games champion and Chairman, London 2012 Organising Committee, enquired about Delhi's preparedness of the Commonwealth Games and embraced former India cricket captain Kapil Dev.

Kapil, who was captain of the Indian cricket team that won the World Cup in 1983, loved the opportunity to interact with champions from other sporting disciplines. "It is wonderful to meet people like Lord Coe as well as our own champions like Abhinav Bindra, Milkha Singh, Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar," he said.

He said he had no doubt that Delhi 2010 would be a memorable event and that the athletes from the Commonwealth nations and territories would enjoy their visit to compete in the biggest sporting extravaganza in Delhi.

Olympic Games and World championship bronze medalist boxer Vijender Singh was thrilled that he would play a role in the Queen's Relay at Buckingham Palace on his 24th birthday on Thursday. Freestyle wrestler Sushil Kumar, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, and India's first woman medalist at the Olympic Games, Karnam Malleswari, were excited too to be a part of the opening day ceremonies.

Commonwealth Games Federation President Mr. Michael Fennell will take the Baton from the plint and carry it to Her Majesty the Queen. She will place her message to the athletes in a jewellery box in the handcrafted Baton. Her message has been engraved onto a miniature 18-carat gold leaf that is symbolic of the ancient Indian palm leaf patras. The embossing has been made by using modern laser technology. The Baton has been created by Foley design along with Titan Industries and Bharat Electronics.

The Hon'ble President of India will pass on the Baton to the Minister for Sports, Dr. M S Gill who will then turn it over to Mr. Kalmadi, Chairman of the Organising Committee and President of the Indian Olympic Association. Mr. Suresh Kalmadi will then hand over the Baton to the first Batonbearer, Abhinav Bindra.

On October 30, Organising Committee Chairman Mr. Kalmadi will hand over the Baton to the Commonwealth Games Council of England Chairman Sir Andrew Foster in the presence of the Union Sports Minister Dr. MS Gill and the Rt. Hon. Mr. John Bercow, Hon'ble Speaker of the House of Commons and Mr. Tejendra Khanna, Lt. Governor, National Capital Territory of Delhi. The ceremony will be held at the Greens in New Palace Yard, Houses of Parliament.

After journeying for 170,000km over 240 days in different lands that are members of the Commonwealth, the Baton will arrive in India at the Wagah Border with Pakistan with just 100 days left for the start of the Games. It will then travel to all State Capitals, a number of other towns and villages, exhorting all of India to be a part of the celebrations. It will reach the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium during the Opening Ceremony on October 3, 2010 when the Queen or Her representative will read out the message to the athletes, marking the start of the Games.