Sporting flavour to David Cameron’s India visit

It’s a deadly combination of politics and sports. British prime minister David Cameron, who arrives in India on Tuesday on his maiden trip to the country, will be accompanied by a 100-member delegation, including Olympic medal-winning athletes. The three-day visit is aimed at forging a “special relationship” with India, which Britain sees as a rising Asian power.

Among Cameron’s entourage will be legendary middle distance runner Sebastian Coe, who won the 1,500m gold medal at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. Coe, a former Tory MP and chairman of the London organising committee for the 2012 Olympics, will hold talks with officials of the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to take place in Delhi in October. Security arrangements during the Games will be discussed and Cameron may visit a stadium being built for the event.

‘Tanni’ Grey-Thompson, one of the most successful disabled athletes in the world, and Steven Geoffrey Redgrave, hailed as Britain’s greatest Olympian and one of the world’s four Olympians to win a gold at five consecutive Olympic Games, and Kelly Holmes, a top middle distance athlete, are among the attractions in Cameron’s contingent. Sir Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the English Premier League, will be part of the delegation.

“The idea behind bringing in sports icons is to underline the special nature of the people-to-people relationship between India and Britain, home to a 1.5 million-strong Indian diaspora,” a diplomatic source said.