Even as he was conducting dry runs in Buckingham Palace for the commencement of the baton relay ceremony, Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi was preparing his strategy for the crucial meeting with Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell who is landing in London tomorrow.

In a clear climbdown from the strident stand he adopted in New Delhi where he had demanded the recall of CGF Chief Executive Mike Hooper, Kalmadi said he was now prepared to dub the London meeting as “peace talks.”

The crucial brainstorming between the duo — Union Sports Minister M S Gill will also be present — is expected to be pushed forward from October 28 to 29, following the baton relay ceremony.

When asked if he was willing to work with Fennell after being snubbed by him over Hooper, Kalmadi told The Indian Express: “Everything will be sorted out. The Commonwealth Games is more important than individual players. I will agree to whatever Mr Fennell says since he has been good for the country. Everything will get resolved.”

What if Mike Hooper remains in New Delhi? Kalmadi said that he was happy he had raised the issue of Hooper’s style of functioning. “Some good has come out with my taking up the matter with Mr Fennell already. And I want to clarify that what I had said in New Delhi was not that Mike Hooper was useless but that he was not very useful.”

On October 14, Kalmadi wrote to Fennel to find a “suitable replacement” for Hooper and listed instances of what he described as his “intemperate and unacceptable behaviour.” In reply, Fennel described Hooper as an “extraordinary” Chief Executive.

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