The chaos, the confusion, the controversies... everything else was swept aside by the spirit of celebration as the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever staged an extravagant farewell party witnessed by a capacity crowd of 60,000 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and millions of television viewers worldwide on Thursday. There was no pause to the applause as the evening encompassed in its sweep a rainbow of revelry... from a touching pre-show performance by specially-abled children to a moment in the limelight for the thousands of volunteers associated with the October 3-14 event. As the participating national contingents — starting with Australia and followed by India, for which Gagan Narang was the flag-bearer — trooped into the stadium, cheers erupted from the galleries; undoubtedly, the athletes were the heroes here, as is the case at any sporting event, and not administrators such as Suresh Kalmadi whose speech — in a repeat of the public response on the opening night — was received with jeers.Delhi 2010 mascot Shera, conspicuously absent during the inaugural gala, made a grand appearance before the Commonwealth Games Federation flag was handed over to 2014-edition host nation Scotland, a special segment for which featured bagpipers in tartan kilts and the Loch Ness Monster. From a single bronze medal in the 1934 edition to a total tally of 101 as CWG host in 2010, from glitches galore in the build-up to the event to a last-day show that has received compliments from international visitors… India has — yet again — showcased both potential and promise.

There are still many issues to be addressed which hopefully the officials don't forget