The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was buzzing on Tuesday but it had little to do with athletes. The hectic activity going on within the venue was that of over a thousand workers, roped in to lay carpet grass in the infield,and others who have been pressed into service to clean and set the the newly laid track at the stadium. With just a day to go for the competition,truck loads of carpet grass have been brought to the venue. Though workers were doing overtime,till afternoon just 20 per cent of the infield was covered with grass. The remaining area was expected to be covered by late evening. The track and field events are scheduled to start at 5.30 pm with para-sport. Also during the opening ceremony parts of the first three lanes 200 to 250 metres - were damaged and is now being repaired with less than 24 hours to go for the start of the competition. Top organising committee officials had gone on record saying that no part of the track would be damaged during the opening ceremony but it has turned out to be a false promise. Though a strong security presence prevented scribes from getting a clear picture of the extent of the damage,an official present at the venue said that the damaged portion had been repaired but that he was keeping his fingers crossed and was hoping that the track was to the liking of international stars. The patch work has been done,yet we are hoping that none of the athletes have a problem. The marking of the lanes would be done late in the evening, the official added. Also it has come to light that a small portion near the 300-metre point is uneven. It is learnt that though some technical officials have discovered this minor depression,nobody is willing to talk about it. Tintu expected to deliver The missing star power of the likes of Usain Bolt might have undermined the blue riband status of track and field events but it promises to be an enthralling affair with home athletes like PT Usha-protege Tintu Luka gearing up to help the country their best ever show in the mega event. The track and field events begin with two medal events in womens javelin throw final,mens 5000m race final and para sports womens shot put final. Other events on Wednesday are 100m race (men and women) heats,womens 400m race heats,mens shot put preliminary round and womens para sports 100m race heats. India have won just nine track and field medals,including a gold won by Milkha Singh in mens quarter mile or 440 yards race in Cardiff,Wales in 1958. But this time the country,which is fielding a 110-strong squad,including 52 women,the largest in their history,can look forward to at least six. India are fielding Sunil Singh and Sandeep Batham in mens 5,000m race and it will be a tall order for them to finish in top five.
