By Jaideep Sarin
Chandigarh, Oct 19 (IANS) The baton relay for New Delhi’s Commonwealth Games (CWG) will enter India from the Attari-Wagah border near Amritsar June 25 next year.

The baton for the Delhi CWG will be launched by Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace in London Oct 29 in presence of Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at a formal ceremony.

India’s only gold-medal winner in the Olympics, shooter Abhinav Bindra will be the first sportsperson to be given the baton in London. He will be the first baton-bearer of the longest baton relay for any CWG.

New Delhi will host the 19th edition of the CWG between Oct 3 and 14 next year. It will be the biggest sporting extravaganza to be held in India after the country hosted the 1982 Asian Games.

The host country will receive the CWG baton on its soil for the first time June 25 next year when it arrives from Pakistan at the Attari border, 30 km from Amritsar.

The baton will pass through various cities in Punjab before moving to other states in the country.

“The baton will then come to Haryana, where it will pass through Hisar, Rohtak and Kurukshetra towns between Sep 26 and 30 before finally entering the main venue, New Delhi on Oct 1 next year,” Haryana’s Chief Secretary Dharam Vir said here Monday.

Over 10,000 athletes and officials from 71 Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) will participate in the 12-days of sporting competition.

Despite the recent controversies over the slow pace of work for Delhi’s CWG, the games will showcase India as coming of age as a global economic power combined with its rich and distinctive culture.

The baton will travel nearly 170,000 km in 240 days before entering India. It will go through the length and breadth of India for the next 100 days - covering another 20,000 km.

Haryana has set up an 11-member committee to work out arrangements for the baton relay through the state and selecting the sports-stars who will run with the baton.