Brief history of the Commonwealth and Asian Games

Jagath C Savanadasa

The focus of all sports lovers centres in many parts of the world, more particularly in South Asia centres on India currently hosting the Commonwealth Games.

The present event is its 19th version. This is the first time in history that the Games are being held in South Asia. Malaysia in East Asia hosted it in 1998. Malaysia, a fast rising economy has consistently been on an upward curve in terms of economic advancement. Yet another developing country Jamaica hosted the games back in 1966.

Though small in size Jamaica is big in sports especially cricket and athletics. For example in the 2008 Olympics, Jamaica defeated the mighty United States in both the men's and women's sprints.

The last Olympics enabled the world to witness the amazing Usain Bolt winning both the 100 and 200 metres in record times and capturing a gold medal through the Jamaican victory in the 4 x 100 metres men's relay. This was somewhat reminiscent of the tall Jamaican Arthu Wint beating the U.S. runner in the 400 metres with a new world record of 46.02 in the 1948 Olympics in London.

Commonwealth Games in New Delhi

Despite the initial setbacks it should be the hope of all in South Asia that the games will be a success. South Asian needs a good push up of its ability to undertake events of the magnitude of the Commonwealth Games. And what better nation is there in terms of overall capacity within the sub continents vast contours than India to host the games. She is at least for the present time enjoying unprecedented success in all-round economic development.

If the Games achieve success it may impact favourably on India's neighbours to. A spin-off effect as a consequence is not too far-fetched to think of - just two initial words that would help an image build up for the region are security and stability. Technical capacity infrastructure and human resources to handle big tasks will come next in importance.

India-hosted the first Asian Games too

India also hosted the inaugural Asian Games in 1951 just four years after she gained independence from British rule. It was an achievement of considerable merit especially considering the fact that India was then a poor nation, nowhere near what she is today.

India's first Premier Jawarharlal Nehru was the prime mover behind the idea of holding a sports event for Asians. At a conference of Asian nations in 1947 held in Delhi titled Asian Relations, he made a great endeavour to promote the idea.

Nehru thus could be called the father of the Asian Games.

Perhaps the idealistic and charismatic Nehru envisioned a pan-Asian alliance in an era characterized by geopolitical and ideological divisions. After all he was also the moving spirit behind the non-aligned movement during the subsequent cold-war period.

Besides Jawarharlal Nehru the Maharaja of Patiala, the stately spots personality of those post-independent years in India, Anthony de Mello and Prof. Guru Dutt Sondhi were the other eminent Indians whose contribution towards holding the first Asiad will long be remembered. Teaming with them was the Philipino sports enthusiast Gorge B Vero.

Highlights of the first Asiad

Though the Japanese sportsmen swept everything before them at the first Asian games (and many others subsequently) some Indian athletes responded magnificently to their countrymen's effort in conducting this pathbreaking event.

The first Asian games had six disciplines namely Athletics, Basket ball, Cycling, Football, Swimming and Weightlifting. This number increase to 27 by 1990.

The tall handsome Anglo-Indian Lavy Pinto brought glory to India when he won both the first Asian 100 and 200 metres and also helped India to win the men's 4 x 100 relay. Pinto ran the 100 metres in Colombo too back in the early 1950's.

The All Comers 100 metres in Colombo

This writer then far too young to know the facts of the matter later learnt that this event at the All Comers A. A. A. meet at the Colombo Oval, was mired in controversy. Competing with the Asian Champion was our own Summa Navaratnam, a double international who had created a sensation earlier by establishing a new Asian record of 10.40 seconds in the 100 metres.

The controversy arose out of the "dead-heat" in the 100 finals. (Dead heats today do not occur thanks to the availability of modern cameras). Of course in an age when electronics were non-existent Pinto was declared the winner, though both runners had also recorded the identical timing. I rechecked this incident that was believed to have caused a stir in local sports circles with Summa who confirmed that Pinto was the winner. Summa added that the decision was on account of Pinto's fair skin (rather ruefully).

No doubt during those early post independent years colour discrimination was yet alive and a black man was sometimes discriminated, but my on view in this specific case is that, the decision was perhaps due to the fresh and daunting image of Pinto as Asia's newly crowned sprint star.

A similar decision reversed

On the other hand there had been a somewhat similar but an incredible incident in the history of the Commonwealth Games. An English hurdler had won a split decision in 110 metres hurdles beating a Pakistani hurdler. But in a sensational reversal of the decision after a review of the film of the event 14 years later, Gulam Rasiz the Pakistani hurdler was declared the winner - it seemed like a tale out of "Ripley's Believe It or Not."

Empire Games the forerunner

The forerunner to the Commonwealth games was the Empire Games. The first seeds of the idea of a sports festival, for the young men of the Empire were sown way back in the early 20th century and as a result some countries who were a part the Empire conducted the festival in 1911. But the First World War caused disruptions to the Empire Games. It was resurrected in 1930 due primarily to the determined efforts of a Canadian names N H Crow a dedicated promoter.

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games from 1930 to 1994 has been won by Australia eight times followed by the UK with six wins and Canada one win. Each of these countries have also been in the forefront of producing great individual sportsmen especially athletes.

The number of disciplines in sports at the Commonwealth Games has been significantly less than at the Olympics and the participant countries too are confined to only the Commonwealth of Nations. This year the Games have 17 disciplines and 260 events, plus 72 participant nations.

The 1950 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand showed the enormous talent of Ceylon's Duncan White the 440 yards hurdler. He brought single honour to his motherland by winning the event. White later was runner-up in the same event at the Olympics, the first occasion that a Ceylonese won a medal at these pre-eminent games. Of course Susanthika Jayasinghe duplicated this honour. These two athletes thus could justly be called the most outstanding in the history of local athletics.