The Commonwealth Games

Welcome to the Commonwealth Games, I am your host Greg Henderson and I will be keeping you up to date with all of the latest developments throughout the events. There are fourteen events planned for each quadrennial games, each games will be the equivalent of a season with the first games being based in Dehli, India and each games after that will be at home for the previous games Medal Leader. As we talk the Queens Baton can be seen arriving into the stadium ready to begin the ceremonies, and to present the Queen's message to the atheletes in attendance tonight. And it is being run the final steps to the podium by none other than Sachin Tendulkar, as he hands it over to the HRH Queen Elizabeth II and steps back, she steps up to the podium and begins to read:

In Dehli, tonight, I am opening what are known as "The Friendly Games". Commonwealth athletes will gather once more in a spirit of goodwill and fellowship, and will strive to achieve new heights of excellence.

As we watch our finest sportsmen and women compete, we will see clearly what exercise at the very highest level can contribute to both body and spirit.

There is a traditional proverb which says, "He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything." This year, as governments search for new ways to tackle these important challenges, we as individuals can also play our part so that, in pursuing health and vitality for all, we bring hope to the world.

"Such strong words from the leader of the Commonwealth tonight, I hope it puts faith, honour and strength into the hearts of all our athletes as they prepare to compete in the events of the 19th Commonwealth Games, I'm Greg Henderson wishing all the athletes the best of luck as they participate in the events over the next two weeks."

Well lets have a look at the events that the teams will be competing in over the period of the games, we will see competition in the Decathlon (Avg Rating), the Marathon (Most Distance Covered), the 400m (Avg Distance covered), Archery (Shots on Target %), Shooting (Number of Goals), Diving (Worst Discipline), Basketball (Dribbles per 90mins), Triathlon (Apps+Goals+Assts), Volleyball (Assists), Judo (Tackles won per 90mins), Boxing (Fouls), Wrestling (Man of Match), Synchronised Swimming (Sub Appearances), and of course the Medley Relay (Pass Completion Ratio).

Now it is time to look at the athletes we have representing each of the Commonwealth nations for these games, first the representatives for Africa, we have Whoopy Dee'e (Cameroon), Kenco (Ghana), King Tikki-Man (Kenya), Les Otho (Lesotho), Phil Campos (Mozambique), Cristobal Blanco (Namibia), Uchewuchuche Ugchuku (Nigeria), Daniel Griffin (Seychelles), Super Shane (Sierra Leone), James Almond (South Africa), Desmond Tiny (Tanzania), Stewart Robertson (Uganda) and Daniel Kapepwe (Zambia). A very strong contingent from Africa for these games, and they will be trying to show their strength across all the events, King Tikki-Man is the favourite for the Marathon, while Phil Campos is a renowned 400m runner, but don't expect much from this group in the Synchronised Swimming.

Now we will take a look at the competitors from Oceania, the island nations of the Pacific are always well represented at the Commonwealth Games and this year is no different, we have Brucie Bonus (Australia), Lucas Schaw (New Zealand), Mike Hill (Samoa), Tyler Burrows (Tuvalu) and Ryan Andrews (Vanuata). These nations are always strong at their water sports so watch out for Brucie Bonus in the Medley Relay, Lucas Schaw in the Triathlon and Tyler Burrows in the Diving.

The teams from Asia are delighted to have only their second home games in Commonwealth history, and they have brought a large contingent with them, Mumbai Lala (Bangladesh), Zidy Bolkiah (Brunei), Robinder Singh (India), Alex (Malaysia), Oofindu Brettney (Maldives), Salim Achmed (Pakistan), Ben Chia (Singapore) and Happy GoLucky (Sri Lanka), the Asian teams normally are dominant at your teams events, so watch out in the Basketball, Volleyball & Judo for these opponents as they look to dominate these Asian Games.

With only a small number of competitors from Europe, they are led by Paul Hart (Cyprus), Owen Refalo (Malta), Chip Butty (Scotland), Joe Tompkins (England), Steve Axworth (Wales) and Kelly Dawson (Northern Ireland). The Europeans are generally reasonably strong in all events, but in particular watch out for Owen Refalo in the Archery and Paul Hart in the Shooting, these guys are deadly accurate and have been known to take out their opponents with a perfect head shot.

North America & The Caribbean are very well represented at these Commonwealth Games, as we see Liam Ferguson (Antigua & Barbuda), Robert Boyle (Bahamas), Arkano Serpico (Barbados), Miguel Vargas (Dominica), Tom Smith (Grenada), Marky Mark (Guyana), Halo von Stronburg (Jamaica), Chris Waddle (St Kitts & Nevis), Ben Craig (St Lucia), Selenga Dwight Bajhiol (Trinidad & Tobago) and of course Ricky Nakano (Canada). With a large group of island nations in attendance and Canada being the big dog from this area expect some tough battles as they fight for American pride.

Let the Games Begin

Sorted by Current League Location:

Cameroon

MTN One

Whoopy Dee'e (Cameroon) => Young Sports Academy - Personal

Paul Hart (Cyprus) => Fovu - Personal

Stewart Robertson (Uganda) => Roumde Adjia - Personal

Steve Axworth (Wales) => Panthere du Nde - Personal

England

League Two

Tom Smith (Grenada) => Shrewsbury - Personal

Alex (Malaysia) => Port Vale - Personal

Oofindu (Maldives) => Rochdale - Personal

Chris Waddle (St Kitts & Nevis) => Dag & Red - Personal

Super Shane (Sierra Leone) => Northampton - Personal

Desmond Tiny (Tanzania) => Aldershot - Personal

Ryan Andrews (Vanuatu) => Crewe - Personal

Ghana

Premier League

Owen Refalo (Malta) => New Edubiase - Personal

Daniel Kapepwe (Zambia) => Arsenal - Personal

India

National Football League

Liam Ferguson (Antigua & Barbuda) => Mumbai FC - Personal

Salim Achmed (Pakistan) => Pune FC - Personal

Kelly Dawson (N. Ireland) => SC Goa - Personal

Kenya

Premier League

Arkano Serpico (Barbados) => Red Berets - Personal

Les Otho (Lesotho) => SofaPaka - Personal

Malaysia

Super League

King Tikki-Man (Kenya) => Selangor - Personal

Mozambique

Liga Mocambicana

Mumbai Lala (Bangladesh) => CD Matchedje - Personal

Zidy Bolkiah (Brunei) => Chingale - Personal

Lucas Schaw (New Zealand) => Costa do Sol - Personal

Daniel Griffin (Seychelles) => Ferroviario de Maputo - Personal

New Zealand

Football Championship

Chip Butty (Scotland) => Hawkes Bay - Personal

Joe Tompkins (England) => Youngheart - Personal

Northern Ireland

Premier Division

Kenco (Ghana) => Coleraine - Personal

Mike Hill (Samoa) => Portadown - Personal

Happy GoLucky (Sri Lanka) => Linfield - Personal

Scotland

Division One

Halo von Stronburg (Jamaica) => Queen of Sth - Personal

Singapore

S-League

Brucie Bonus (Australia) => Geylang Utd - Personal

Robert Boyle (Bahamas) => Gombak Utd - Personal

Miguel Vargas (Dominica) => SAFFC - Personal

Robinder Singh (India) => Etoile - Personal

Phil Campos (Mozambique) => Young Lions - Personal

Solomon Islands

HFA DJ League

Tyler Burrows (Tuvalu) => Makuru - Personal

Tanzania

Ligu Kuu Tanzania Bara

Marky Mark (Guyana) => Simba - Personal

Uchewuchuche Ugchuku (Nigeria) => Moro Utd - Personal

Ben Chia (Singapore) => Toto Africa - Personal

James Almond (South Africa) => Tanzania Prisons - Personal

Freddy Rand (Tonga) => Mtiwiba Sugar - Personal

Wales

Principality Wales Premier

Ricky Nakano (Canada) => Rhyl - Personal

Cristobal Blanco (Namibia) => Connah's Quay - Personal

Ben Craig (St Lucia) => Porthmadog - Personal

Selenga Dwight Bajhiol (Trinidad & Tobago) => Aberystwyth - Personal

One Quarter Down

The Events

Decathlon (Avg Rating)

The first event we are going to watch today is the Decathlon, all the competitors were involved in the first two events of ten, we saw James Almond & Daniel Griffin blow out to quite a lead following the 100m Sprint, both of them were extremely fast out of the blocks and were hoping that starting quick would give them a chance into the rest of the events, but a massive effort from Marky Mark in the Long Jump has seen him leap to the lead, while Daniel Griffin was at least consistent as he finished second again, while we saw Selenga Bajhiol pull out a stunning leap to move into third, Almond is trailing just behind the top three.

Marathon (Most Distance Covered)

As the Marathon moves past the ten kilometre mark we can see Miguel Vargas looking back over his shoulder, he has made it as the first one to the quarter mark, and just in the background is the Bahamas athlete, Robert Boyle, as he tries to prove that even he can beat Paul Hart home in a long distance run even if he can't in BATracer, but he has a long way to go and is looking a bit exhausted. Behind these two there is a bit of a gap back to the challengers, in third spot we have Ryan Andrews running for Vanuatu as he surprises everyone, but Brucie Bonus is sitting just behind him, trying to get himself a medal for Australia as they look to beat the smaller nations ahead of them.

400m (Avg Distance covered)

Well in the 400m we have seen the heats, and some of the starters for the final are starting to appear, but the best showings so far have come from Alex for Malasyia coming in 4th as he looks to make it easier as we head into the Quarterfinals to take the title later. Kenco & Robert Boyle went head to head in the first heat, but with the pair of them pulling out the best times so far, even Brucie Bonus couldn't keep up with them. So Ghana & The Bahamas lead the way in the 400m and look like being the ones who will take out the gold, now it comes down to who can be consistent for the rest of the event, Boyle is known for falling apart in later stages, or having false starts cost him, but Kenco needs stimulants to function.

Archery (Shots on Target %)

It may be early in the Archery competition here at New Delhi, but there is a huge group forming who are looking to challenge for the medals, Miguel Vargas is doing the job for Dominica, but he is not able to catch the leader right now. Trinidad & Tobago's Bajhiol is looking like an excellent bet in this event, he seems to be accurate enough that he will always be in the competition, and Steveldinho is representing the Welsh pretty well here as well, but none of them can compete with Kelly Dawson who has been perfect so far, he will be looking to continue his streak through the rest of the rounds and dominate the final as well, but Tiny, Butty & Burrows are real threats in this event.

Shooting (Number of Goals)

The target shooting has been a bit of a blow out, with Miguel Vargus showing everyone else exactly how to take the targets out as he has knocked them down one by one right through out day one of the event. He has a huge lead over the opponents, but Daniel Griffin & Super Shane are sitting back just waiting for the chance they need, hopefully for them Vargas will make a mistake. Marky Mark was looking great for a chance at this medal, but an injury early on day 1 has left him struggling to stay in touch, he has a chance, but he cannot afford anymore down time or he will be completely out of touch.

Diving (Worst Discipline)

The diving events will not be decided until the final day of events, but there have been a few out practising in the pool late at night. We have seen Alex in action and the Malaysian looks very strong, he seems to know the perfect form, and he has a great pike as well. Tom Smith has been out and putting in a few practise dives as well, he seems to have almost perfected the dive that the referee will miss, only time will tell if all this practise will pay off. Bajhiot, GoLucky, Nakano & Hill have all been seen around the diving pool as well, but any of the mentioned names or any other could be the one to take this title as no one really shines out above the others.

Basketball(Dribbles per 90mins)

Well I think the whole of the Commonwealth is surprised to see the Seychelles leading the Basketball prelims, and they are not lucky to be there, they have cleaned up all comers to sit on top of the table. Behind them we see Northern Ireland, they are led by their Inspirational Captain Kelly Dawson, and they have shown up the more favoured Australians already. Both of these teams have surprised the rest of the field, and everyone else will be looking to catch them as we head towards the playoffs, but the only other teams in touch right now appear to be Brunei leading the way for the Sultan, and Trinidad & Tobago who were one of the early favourites for the medals in Basketball.

Triathlon (Apps+Goals+Assts)

So far the Triathlon has only come out of the water, as the leaders head onto the bikes we can see that there is a bit of a gap from the Dominican in 1st back to the chase group, but with Daniel Griffin, Super Shane & Ricky Nakano all being stronger on the bike than him, Miguel Vargas will be hoping that he can maintain that lead, and behind that are a few other stronger entrants for the Triathlon, Lucas Schaw will be looking to keep up New Zealand's great record in this event, as well Joe Tompkins looking to do for England what some of the greats have done in the past.

Volleyball (Assists)

The Volleyball is still in the group stages, and as such there are a lot of teams that are still very competitive. The finalists could come from anywhere, and who knows who will even make it through the Groups yet. Canada and New Zealand are leading their groups, while India, the Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago are sitting right there as well, its a very tough group stage going on and anyone could be there at the end. James Almond has led his South African team into a position where they still have a great chance as well, so if you can pick a winner at this point you are better than I am.

Judo (Tackles won per 90mins)

The Judo competition has seen some great bouts already, and unsurprisingly it is the Asian nations leading as everyone thought it would be, of course no one would've really thought it would be Oofindu out front, The Maldives aren't exactly known for being competitive in any sport. Sri Lanka were one of the early favourites for this event, and Happy GoLucky is a little behind where everyone thought he would be, but having knocked out his opponents easily he is still well in touch. Halo von Stonburg & Mike Hill have been the surprises of this event, both have defeated more fancied employees to look like true competitors for this Medal, can they keep it up or will they slip off the bandwagon once their form goes downhill.

Boxing(Fouls)

With only four knockouts in the first round of bouts these are the challengers who are looking likely to be the ones right through til the end, if I could pick the semi-finalists right now I would put my money on Otho of Lesotho, Vargas of Dominica, GoLucky of Sri Lanka & Singh of India, they have shown some great skill in the ring and are learning the techniques in the amateur boxing arena. Otho was always a favourite for the Boxing Gold, but Vargas & GoLucky will be surprises to be sitting near the top early on.

Wrestling (Man of Match)

Well the wrestling events started off with a great effort from Daniel Griffin showing himself as the number one contender, his skill on the mat is superior. Vargas managed to get out of a few disadvantaged set-ups to keep himself in the hunt for this Medal as well, but Bajhiot & Andrews are also showing some good skill against all competition as they try to get into the Gold Medal match.

Synchronised Swimming (Sub Appearances)

We have only seen two displays so far, and while neither has been great, if the others don't get out and show us what they can do soon then Kenco will run away with the Gold without even a challenge as only von Stronburg looks like his team even know how to work together to make their display look any good.

Medley Relay(Pass Completion Ratio)

The Jamaican team were led out by von Stronburg with the Backstroke leg, and he absolutely blitzed the field. He led from the gun, some other teams' officials suspected a jump start, but he was cleared and is blowing out the field. The next groups back are Mike Hill's Samoa, and Marky Mark's Guyana who both had very good Backstroke legs, but all of the top three will have to watch out as India, Namibia and Lesotho are right behind and their stars all feature in the later legs and will be looking to charge near the end of the race and take a surprise late victory.

If the Season ended today the top of the Medal Table would look like this:

Some Bonus Info for you

Injury Updates

Every three months there will be an update on injuries for the players in the challenge, this could help you figure out why you are so far behind or make you wonder why someone is leading even with a big injury or two.

• Brucie Bonus spent 9 days near the end of Sept out with a Bruised Shin.
  
• Mumbai Lala tore his hamstring in early Sept and will miss the end of the season as he is out for 2-3 months.
  
• Arkano Serpico spent 7 weeks out with a Fractured Wrist from 15.07, he returned on 02.09, but is now expected to be out for 2 months with strained knee ligaments injured in training on 30th Sept.
  
• Miguel Vargas gashed his arm in late Sept and will be out for 5-8 days as the Singapore season comes towards an end.
  
• Kenco has also had a gash, but his is to his lower leg and he will be back in action in about 2-3 weeks.
  
• Marky Mark gashed his leg on Aug 24th and was out for 3 weeks.
  
• Robinder Singh has twice been injured so far, for 12 days in early July with a Bruised Thigh and then again for 10 days in August with a Concussion.
  
• Halo von Stronburg was out for 10 days from Sept 18th with a Facial Injury, I think he needed a nose job.
  
• Ben Craig badly twisted his ankle on Sept 5th in an international training session and is likely to be out for 5 weeks.
  
• Les Otho stubbed his toe in training on July 17th and missed 9 days because of it.
  
• Phil Campos has been gutted with his run so far, he was injured on 15th July with bruised ribs putting him out for 10 days, and in his first match back on July 26th he suffered strained knee ligaments and was put out of action for 8 weeks.
  
• Ugchuku was very disappointed when he went down on the 10th of Sept with a twisted ankle, he is expected to be completely out of action for 5 weeks.
  
• Kelly Dawson went down in training in a pool of blood, a huge gash in his leg will see him out of action for about 3 weeks.
  
• Lucas Schaw was out for ten days with a bruised jaw after an opponent got him with a beautiful uppercut before getting sent off on July 15th.
  
• Chip Butty has spent most of the New Zealand pre-season out with a torn hamstring as he was injured in training on August 5th and was out for 4 weeks.
  
• Ben Chia fractured his arm on Sept 12th during a game, and his manager was devestated by the loss to see him out for 4 weeks.
  
• Chris Waddle is another player with injury issues, he spent 9 days out with a bruised shin in August, and is currently out of action with a facial injury, I guess von Stronburg told him which Plastic Surgeon to use.
  
• Happy GoLucky has been out of action twice so far, once for 10 days with a strained neck, and in July he had the Flu and missed 6 days of training.
  
• Freddy Rand broke his wrist on August 8th and has only just returned after 7 weeks on the sideline.
  
• Steveldinho broke his nose in training to spend 2 weeks on the sideline, maybe he should ask Halo for some help to get it straightened.
  
• Daniel Kapepwe went out in the preseason for 3 weeks as he suffered a Chest Injury.
  

Transfer Updates

I will also update on any transfer action as it happens, none of our players have moved clubs yet, but a few have rejected contracts from their clubs who wanted to extend them.

International Updates

I am going to give you a bit of an update on international appearances in every update as well, though they will not count towards the Medal Rounds.

• Zidy Bolkiah got his debut on Aug 12th as his Brunei side took on Uzbekistan in a friendly, he came off the bench at half time, but didn't achieve much.
  
• Marky Mark added his Guyana debut on Aug 12th as they lost 2:0 to Peru in a friendly. He captained the side, but only performed averagly.
  
• Halo von Stronburg came off the bench for Jamaica on Aug 12th as he got his international debut with a reasonable showing against the US. Virgin Islands.
  
• Owen Refalo debuted for Malta against Moldova in a friendly on Aug 12th, he got a yellow card, but nothing else in 78 mins, he then got his second cap in a World Cup Qualifying match where Malta went down 3:0 to Sweden on Sept 9th.
  
• Cristobal Blanco managed to have a great debut for Namibia against Eritea on Aug 12th as his team won 2:1 and he picked up 2 assists, and he led all the way.
  
• Arkano Serpico made his debut for Barbados against the Virgin Islands on Sept 9th, just days after his return from injury. He played 81mins, but never really got going.
  
• Selenga Bajhiol made his debut for Trinidad & Tobago against El Salvador in World Cup Qualifiers, he then got his second cap as he started against the USA as Trinidad & Tobago got smashed 3:1.
  
• Daniel Kapepwe started his international career for Zambia with an appearance against Ghana in a friendly, following that he made his second cap off the bench against Algeria.
  
• Seven Players have made Youth appearances for thier nations, they are: Whoopy Dee'e. Ricky Nakano, Tom Smith, Selenga Bajhiol, Halo von Stronburg, Ugchuku & Kelly Dawson.
  

My Notes to you

Also remember that some of the leagues, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Cameroon, India & Ghana, are yet to start their matches for the season, some have been in Continental competitions, but most of the competitors in these nations have yet to play. And also those in Singapore, Kenya & Mozambique have been playing through the last half of their season, which means they have a gap coming up in November. So it will all balance out, and you may be worried about the lack of mention so far.

Hope you all like the first update