Canadians raise Commonwealth Games village flag in emotional ceremony

DELHI, India – The official 2010 Commonwealth Games theme song, composed and sung by Slumdog Millionaire Academy Award winner A.R. Rahman, blared from the loudspeakers as Team Canada was officially welcomed on Friday into the athletes’ village with its flag-raising ceremony.

But there was only one song that mattered to men’s field-hockey captain and flag-bearer Ken Pereira as the Maple Leaf was raised in the village by cadets from the Indian National Cadet Corps.

"I still get goosebumps when I hear our national anthem. It’s killing me (with emotion)," said Pereira, as colourfully clad young Indian dancers performed while waving paper Maple Leaf flags.

Pereira is one of 10 Indo-Canadians on the Canadian contingent of 251 athletes.

"To be carrying the flag in India, where my parents were born, is unbelievable," said Pereira, who is from Mississauga, Ont.

"Anytime you get to play for Canada is a great honour. This just takes it to another level altogether because I am representing so many great Canadian athletes."

Dalbir Singh, the mayor of the athletes’ village, addressed the Canadian contingent and alluded to the organizational chaos that has been the earmark of these Games. The latest criticism came from noted Indian-born author Salman Rushdie, who slammed the organizers for the "great humiliation" to India.

"We have finally accomplished it and I hope we give you a home away from home," said Singh.

But with the Games’ opening ceremony on Sunday, it wasn’t easy getting to this point.

"There have been a few concerns, which we haven’t hidden from you," said Singh.

"There are no secrets between us. There has been great urgency to address the concerns. You have come a long distance and most of you have worked years for this. And you bring an impressive tally of medals behind you (Canada stands third on the all-time Commonwealth Games medals list behind Australia and England)."

While the Canadian ceremony was ongoing, athletes from other nations could be seen in the background practising in the on-site swimming pool and track. Adjacent to that are the on-site practice venues for wrestling and weightlifting. In the other direction, in what will be home to nearly 7,000 athletes over the next two weeks, were others wandering through the Internet cafes, grocery store and games room of the International Zone.

It didn’t seem possible just a few weeks ago, but India appears to be pulling this together.

The Canadian ceremony Friday was preceded by a hugely emotional flag-raising ceremony for the host nation as Olympic gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra was unveiled as the opening ceremony flag-bearer in front of a massive pack of media from all over this burgeoning subcontinent.

One of the storylines to these Games will be the host nation’s attempts to crash into the medal-winning class of the Big Three. In February at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Canadians witnessed the medal bump that can happen from hosting a Games. Nobody will challenge the Aussie dominance atop the tables here, but the 619-strong Indian team has definitely targeted England and Canada as catchable.

"The culture of India really comes out in this village," said Suzanne Weckend of Victoria, who is with team services and support with the Canadian mission staff.

"They are so proud of their country and this is a big moment for them," added Weckend, who competed in swimming at her hometown 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games and in triathlon at the last Commonwealth Games in 2006 at Melbourne, Australia.

"I feel that more than I felt that in other villages, although nothing will beat having the ’94 Games village just four minutes from my house. But after all the problems, this Delhi village looks like it’s building to something special."

The young Canadian gymnastics team in the village seemed genuinely impressed as the colours swirled around them in what is the first multi-sport Games experience for most of them.

When asked if any of the gymnasts were Olympians, Emma Willis of Sarnia, Ont., replied: "Ask us in two years."

And that may have been the best comeback against those who deride the Commonwealth Games as a second-rate anachronism.

According to Willis and her Canadian gymnastic teammates, the Games still serve a useful purpose.

Just ask them again after the London Olympics in 2012.