Other website sections

»Sports Market Reports

»Sports Jobs

»Tenders

»Directory

»Conferences

A senior Delhi Commonwealth Games organiser has hit out at the decision to allow vuvuzelas to be used during the October event.

Executive board member Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the loud instruments, which became notorious at the World Cup 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 sporting 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.

"We have our own way of drum-beating and other forms of entertainment in the stadiums. We don't need any foreign device for our sporting festivals.”

Suresh Kumar, chairman of the Games merchandising partner, had earlier told Reuters that he was expecting a good response to the horns.

"In India we enjoy sports with lot of noise,” he said. “We are not like the Europeans.

"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."