Russia on Friday said that "it did not have confirmation of a single country boycotting next year's Sochi Winter Olympics despite a furore over an anti-gay law and vowed to hold one of the best Games ever," according to the AFP. Speaking to the Russian lower house of parliament, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that "no country had definitely announced a boycott." Some Western rights activists have called for an int'l boycott of the games after President Vladimir Putin in June "signed a controversial law banning the promotion of homosexuality to minors." Mutko: "So far we do not know of anything, except a statement by one country, and even in that case, the International Olympic Committee has no such information." It "was not immediately clear which country he was referring to" (AFP, 10/12). R-SPORT reported Mutko said that Russia's compact "two-cluster" concept for February's Winter Olympics in Sochi "will make the event one of the best Olympics in history and eliminate tedious travel time that afflicted Vancouver 2010." Russia claims to be holding the most compact Games ever, "with all venues confined to a mountain cluster and a coastal cluster separated by a 30-minute train ride in the Black Sea resort" (R-SPORT, 10/11).
IN INDIA: The Indian Olympic Association will hold its special General Body Meeting in New Delhi on Oct. 27 "to decide on the date of elections" as per the directives of the IOC. A top IOA official said that "the notification for the same was issued on Saturday." The official said, "We have issued the notification today to hold the GBM on October 27" (PTI, 10/12).
