Almaty 2011 Chief Ousted; Fencing World Championships; Istanbul, Indian Bids

New Leadership for 2011 Asian Winter Games

The head of the Asian Winter Games in Almaty, Kazakhstan has been replaced after officials inspecting sporting facilities last week found them unsatisfactory.

Sultanbek Syzdykov was chosen on Monday to replace Sultanmakhmut Shokbytov, who was named the Almaty Directorate of the Asian Games in January 2010 to oversee the construction of sports facilities, the daily Kazakhstan Today reported.

Shokbytov will continue to work in the directorate, Kazinform.com reported.

The VII Winter Asian Games, to be held in Astana and Almaty, will begin January 30, 2011 with opening ceremonies in Astana.

The new Almaty Directorate must ensure that all the stadiums and athletic facilities for the regional event will be completed on time, KT reported.

Over 10,000 foreign visitors are expected to descend upon Almaty alone during the games, which will last until Feb. 6. The total budget for the 2011 Asian Winter Games is anticipated to exceed $1 billion.

Kazakhstan was selected in 2008 by the Olympic Council of Asia, which organizes the games, to host the 2011 event.

Fencing World Champs Open in Paris

Around 900 fencers from 100 countries are competing at the World Fencing Championships, starting in Paris on Thursday.

They will vie for medals in 32 events, 12 for able-bodied athletes and 20 for wheelchair fencers. They include individual and team events for sabre, foil and epee disciplines.

The Georges Carpentier Stadium will host the individual elimination phases on Wednesday and Thursday, with the main rounds and finals to be staged at the Grand Palais from Nov. 6 to 13.

The opening ceremony on Saturday will follow a pre-competition press conference featuring International Fencing Federation president Alisher Usmanov and Frédéric Pietruszka, head of the French fencing federation.

France Télévision, producer and broadcasting right-holder for the French territory has programmed 23 hours of live broadcasting. Other broadcasters who acquired the TV rights for their respective countries include Italian network RAI, NTV Plus in Russia, ARD/ZDF in Germany, and Eurosport.

Vote of Confidence for Istanbul 2020

Turkey says it’s once again ready to host the Olympics.

State minister for youth and sport Faruk Nafiz Ozak told delegates at the Global Sports Industry Congress in London that his country is primed for success this time around.

"In the last eightyears there has been a lot of development and we have experienced an increase in our National Gross Income,"he was quoted Monday.

"The government wants to host the Games and we would spend a lot of money on it.

Turkey has never hosted the Olympics. Istanbul bid for the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.

After its absence from the 2016 race, Turkey announced last November that Istanbul would again bid, this time for 2020.

Ozak said Monday his country’s transport and accommodations are now up to the challenge and that the Games would only fuel the ongoing development.

"We see sport as investment for the future," Sportsbeat quoted, "and we have a responsibility to create the environment for people to do sport [from ages] seven to 70."

Cities from Japan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have also expressed interest in hosting the 2020 Games. Only Rome has formallylaunched a bid.

More Misgivings for Indian Olympic Bid

Yet another of the men behind Delhi 2010 is casting doubt on an Indian Olympic bid.

Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Mike Hooper told delegates at the Global Sports Industry Congress in London that, in his opinion, India should be wary about rushing into an Olympic bid.

"The reality is [that] in time I think they [will] have the capacity, [but] I think that would be a big ask of India at this time," he was quoted Monday by BBC Sport.

Hooper’s comments came less than three weeks after Delhi chief organizer Suresh Kalmadi appeared to waver for the first time in his insistence on an Olympic-sized follow-up to India’s first Commonwealth Games.

"Well I have a dream [of getting Olympics to India], but I don't know when," he said during a press briefing as the Games came to a close.

Many had viewed the Commonwealth Games as a stepping stone to the subcontinent’s first Olympic Games.

Malawi Olympic Committee Office Burglarized

Thieves made off with several thousand dollars of equipment from the Malawi Olympic Committee headquarters on Saturday.

MOC vice secretary general Haxson Chapasa told reporters the biggest loss was two computers with sensitive information.

"I established that the thieves had targeted the administration and accounts offices where they stole two computers, a refrigerator, a printer and a wireless phone" he said.

Total damages came to more than $3,300.

Chapasa said one of the office guards was injured during the robbery.

This is reportedly the second break-in of the MOC office in two years.

Written by Matthew Grayson, Mark Bisson, Ed Hula and Ed Hula III.