Beenamol to carry the tri-colour at Busan

Star quartermiler and India's brightest medal hope in athletics, K M Beenamol will have the honour of carrying the tricolour at the Busan Asian Games starting at the end of this month.

Announcing this at New Delhi on Friday night at a function to declare Coca-Cola as the Indian contingent's sponsor for the Asian Games, Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi said: "At the Commonwealth Games in Manchester we chose rifle shooter Anjali Bhagwat and she came out with flying colours and now watch out for Beenamol."

"She will lead India's medal hunt from the front."

"The Indian contingent which would be somewhere around 350 will prove in Busan that the biggest ever medal hunt at the Manchester Commonwealth Games was no flash in the pan," Kalmadi said.

He said at the Asiad, the athletes would be India's brightest medal hopes as the shooters and weightlifters who bagged most of the medals in the Commonwealth Games would face much stiffer competition.

He also said IOA will ask the government to clear the football team and a token swimming team as both the disciplines figure in the inaugural Afro-Asian Games to be hosted by India towards the end of 2003.

"For other sports we will ask the respective federations to justify each case," Kalmadi said.