New Delhi:
The Queen's Baton Relay of the Commonwealth Games visited the athletes' Village on Saturday accompanied by the Organising Committee officials.
(See Pics)The Baton arrived here at 11:00 am, 15 minutes behind the scheduled arrival, at Gate no 2 of the athletes' Village and was taken for a ride inside the residential complexes and international zone.
Waiting media contingent and people from all walks of life jostled with each other to catch a glimpse of the Baton, which will be put at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium on Sunday for the opening ceremony, where a grand celebration has been planned.
Organising Committee deputy director general, SPS Dhillon carried the baton to the Games Village where it was handed over to the Village's mayor Dalbir Singh.
The baton reached the Village after visiting Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib and St Columba's School.
"It is a great moment for us. We are hosting the Commonwealth Games and we are very proud of that. We have provided world class facilities to the athletes and we are ready for the grand opening of the event tomorrow," said mayor of the village, Dalbir Singh.
Athletes of different participating countries, school children and other member OC officials welcomed the Baton inside the residential towers. Some of the school kids also got themselves snapped with the Baton.
The Baton had entered the host city on Thursday from the neighbouring state Haryana after completing its 20,000 kilometers journey, passing through all 28 Indian states and seven Union Territories.
The Baton was then taken to the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee headquarters situated opposite Jantar Mantar on Jai Singh road in the afternoon, where Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi received it.
On Friday, the Baton visited Vijay Chowk, India Gate, Teen Murti Bhawan, Qutub Minar and Lotus Temple.
The 1.9 lakh-km-long QBR's journey across 71 countries will culminate on Sunday at the JLN stadium before the opening ceremony of the Games.