Indian athletes pay homage to Atal Bihari Vajpayee

The Indian contingent paid tribute to late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the Athletes Village here yesterday through a small informal gathering organised by Chef de Mission Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh and Indian Olympics Association secretary general Rajeev Mehta.

Vajpayee, 93, passed away on Thursday in New Delhi after a prolonged illness. The Indian athletes stood in silence for a few minutes after which they came ahead in a queue to pay homage to an image of Vajpayee projected on a wall.

"Vajpayee had a lot of respect for sportspersons and always greeted them warmly," said Mehta. "Not many know this, but Vajpayeeji had a brilliant sense of humour too. He always said one thing about the massive crowds that attended his rallies. He said, 'If the number of people who come to listen to my speeches vote for me, then there is no way I can ever lose any election'."

Yao ke paas mat aao!
China's basketball legend, Yao Ming, 37, was the cynosure of all eyes as he walked into the Athletes Village yesterday afternoon as he towered above everyone else. China's first NBA star, seven-foot-five Ming is chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association League. Within minutes and a few metres into his stroll, Ming had over a dozen athletes and officials approach him for a selfie. He however sharply turned them all down and kept marching on. Ming has refused all media interactions too and even refused to pose with fans during a match between the Philippines and Kazakhstan on Thursday here.

Everyone's a millionaire
Given the high inflation rates, everyone is a potential millionaire in Jakarta. One Jakarta rupiah (Rp) is around INR 200, which becomes Rp 14000 to every US dollar. So, most Asian Games guests, who have arrived here carrying a few hundred dollars, have all pocketed millions.

"I exchanged USD 300 and got around Rp 4 million. I feel very rich, though technically I'm not," said a Korean journalist, who did not wish to be named. An average cab ride from the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to the city centre costs around three and a half lakh Indonesian rupiahs, while an internet pack is around Rp 150,000, and that's still not too expensive by Indonesian standards.

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