Putting behind all the glitches and last-minute preparations, the Commonwealth Youth Games got off to a rather extravagant start with President Pratibha Patil declaring the seven-day sporting gala open at the main athletics stadium of the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi here on Sunday.

The slight drizzle and overcast conditions failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the participants as they shimmied on the track during the marchpast, which took on an Olympic flavour. The holiday crowd, too, did not hold back as they applauded acts like the traditional Mewar horses parade, army motorcyclists stunts on their silver bullets, aerial acrobatics by the Indian airforce choppers and their gang of daring paratroopers who landed in the stadium.

Though it was tough to shake off the cynical feeling of the show being an overkill, the symbolic act of the athletes joining together to put water from their respective countries into the kalash or sacred urn seemed to be the defining moment of the evening. Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra then poured the collected water into the ‘Grand Kalash’ to make the Fountain of Youth come alive under lights.

Upping the sporting glamour quotient at the opening ceremony was the presence of Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza, PT Usha, Anjali Bhagwat, P Gopichand and Dhanraj Pillay. The last lap of the baton relay was run by the men-of-the-moment — Olympic bronze medalists Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar, who handed over the baton to Bindra.

Over the next week, the action at the different venues will be involving over 1,300 athletes and 350 officials from countries starting with Australia to Zambia and they will participating in nine disciplines: namely athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

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