New Delhi: Unbelievable, breathtaking, awesome! That’s what the athletes at the Games Village feel about the Opening Ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games which had a spectacular start at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, here on Sunday.

India opened her heart to the world and the spectators were left spellbound inside the stadium. The participating athletes and officials too were left speechless and at times breathless by whatever transpired in the middle during the event, which the whole world had been waiting to witness over the last few weeks.

“It could not have got better. After the initial hiccups, India showed the world that they can do it. What an Opening ceremony! Nobody could have imagined that after so much of negative reports, the beginning to the Games would be so astonishing. We enjoyed every minute of the ceremony,” said Clementine Kermode Clague, an athlete from Isle of Man.

“It was an awesome display of human and technological skills. The lighting was superb. The effect of the helium balloon was mesmerizing.” said Julie Adamson of South Africa.

Corroborating her friend, Ilse Liang to was full of praise for the opening ceremony and said that the fireworks were awesome. “But the best part that I liked was the train which encased India’s diversity,” she added.

Akhil Kumar, India’s gold medal winner at 2006 Commonwealth Games said that he was proud to have taken part in the 2010 Delhi Games and will cherish the moment throughout his life.

"The Indian rail piece was the most entertaining. What I liked about the ceremony was that we were able to showcase our heritage and culture without the Bollywood element in it. The beginning has been fantastic and now it’s time for us to perform," said the Indian pugilist.

They were many, who could not resist the temptation of tapping their foot once AR Rehman took the centre-stage. “I loved the Jai Ho song. I also liked the official song of the Games. And yes, a special mention to the train thing which showcased the Indian culture. It was fantastic,” said Abdul Karim, an official with the Malaysian team who took part in the Opening ceremony.

And there were some who were awestruck by the very ambience inside the stadium. “The crowd was amazing. We loved the noise. This is our first big Games and this was something we were seeing for the very first time. It was such a huge and vociferous crowd. It sort of energized us and we loved every minute of the ceremony,” said some young Australians.

Courtesy: Village News (Official Newspaper of Games Village)