Other Sport
Vuvuzela not welcome in India
2010-09-07 12:00
New Delhi - A senior Delhi Commonwealth Games organiser on Tuesday criticised a decision to allow plastic vuvuzela horns during the October event.
Executive board member Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the horns, the flat drone of which became soccer World Cup's soundtrack in South Africa this year, have no place in India.
"It may be a part of South African culture but it will not fit in here," Malhotra said in a statement, pointing out the horn has been banned from most European sports events.
"It will disturb our players and will be counter-productive," added Malhotra, a senior vice president of the Indian Olympic Association and also head of the national archery federation.
The noisy horns were banned from the Wimbledon tennis tournament and also from UEFA's major soccer competitions such as the Champions League, Europa League and Euro 2012 qualifiers.
Priced at a little less than $4, the vuvuzelas are part of the official merchandise products of the October 3-14 Games.
"We have our own way of drum-beating and other forms of entertainment in the stadiums. We don't need any foreign devise for our sporting festivals," Malhotra said.
Suresh Kumar, chairperson of the Games merchandising partner, had earlier said that he was expecting a good response for the horns.
"In India we enjoy sports with lot of noise. We are not like the Europeans," he said.
"The organising committee only needs to ensure that the fans are allowed to enter the stadiums with the vuvuzelas and it is not perceived as a security issue."