The Queen will pass on the baton to the President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil, who will hand it over to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chairman Suresh Kalamdi, and Bindra will then start the Queen’s Baton Relay which is one of the oldest traditions of Commonwealth Games.
The baton will travel for 240 days internationally to all the Commonwealth countries in which it will cover a distance of 1,70,000 kms before entering India on June 25 through Wagah border.
A 35-member contingent, including 11 Baton bearers will be there in London to kick off the tradition, which dates a long way back to 1958 in Cardiff.
Besides Bindra, Olympic bronze medallists Sushil Kumar, Vijender Singh, 1958 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Milkha Singh, 1983 cricket World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev, badminton legend Prakash Padukone, former hockey national team captain Dilip Tirkey and Hyderabad’s tennis ace Sania Mirza will be the other Baton bearers.
After the Baton arrives in India, it will travel across the length and breadth of the country and will reach the Capital, which is to host the quadrennial event, in October next year.
The Baton will travel 20,000 kms in India, which is the maximum distance that has been ever covered in the host country.
“The Baton will travel 27 states and seven Union Territories and the distance is double to what was covered during the Manchester and Melbourne Games,” said the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 chairman and MP from Pune Suresh Kalmadi.
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