I'm not one to quickly hold my hands up when I'm in the wrong, but I must confess, I may have been a little premature in completely writing Delhi off when I first arrived here.

Sorry India.

But in my defence, when I landed in the city hosting the 19th Commonwealth Games, the place was simply like nothing I had ever witnessed before.

It was hot, dusty, dry and the traffic on the roads appeared to be moving in such a frantic and unpredictable manner I thought I would be lucky to go a day without seeing, or being the victim of, a serious traffic accident.

I also arrived in Delhi at the height of major security fears over the Games, an outbreak of the potentially fatal dengue fever and such worries over the venues that it was mooted the event may not even go ahead.

I had it in my head that I was determined not to like India - despite being half-Indian - so thinking of my beloved "green-old-England" to where I immediately wanted to return, I lashed out with a blog condemning Delhi and almost everything about the Commonwealth Games.

It drew a surprisingly sharp response in which I was described as everything from a "drunk" to a "racist".

I assure you, I am neither of the two (well, maybe the former on the occasional Saturday night out) but it was not entirely inaccurate for those who posted comments saying my "agenda is fixed" because to be fair, it probably was.

I was annoyed with those who defended Delhi and who criticised the media for giving Delhi negative coverage when I didn't see how we could ever put a positive spin on a bridge collapse, a filthy Athletes' Village or monumental delays in construction.

However, things here slowly began to turn around my perception of India and it started with the Indian people.

They are so charming, friendly and helpful that I feel almost awkward asking for anything as simple as directions as I know they will go out of their way to walk me to my destination, despite my protests, however far away.

They are also so welcoming and genuinely pleased to have you in their country that it is rather humbling.

The next thing I noticed was that for all the talk of high-profile boycotts, the competition wasn't all that bad.

The swimming event was about as elite as you could have asked for, with the double Beijing 2008 Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington picking up two gold medals, and the cycling road race was so spectacularly challenging in the baking conditions that even Isle of Man star Mark Cavendish could only manage seventh.

Yes, there was no Usain Bolt or Jessica Ennis and that is unfortunate but there was nonetheless world-class sport taking place in world-facilities.

Even the problems with the lack of spectators, which was actually probably the biggest worry in the end for the Games organisers, improved after the first couple of days, which is better late than never.

Other things about India were beginning to grow on me too such as the heat, which once I acclimatised to, I found rather pleasant.

I also began to realise that the lethal roads I had so despised during my first few days here actually had an intelligent system whereby each driver seems to know where the other one is coming from without looking.

Whether this is from the incessant beeping or whether it is because they are all telepathic I'm not sure, but I feel there is a secret code to driving safely on the crazy Indian roads that I am slowly beginning to crack.

Earlier this week, I met up with another Commonwealth Games supporter of Indian heritage in the form of London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe.

Coe, whose Indian heritage isn't overly well known, was actually born to a half-Indian mother while his Indian grandparents owned a luxurious hotel right in the heart of New Delhi long before Sebastian was even though of.

Coe had said before the Games: "I'm half-Indian and I'm very proud the Commonwealth Games are going to be in that country.

"I think when athletes and spectators get there they will find it an extremely hospitable environment and I think they will fall in love with India.

"I really want this to work and I see no reason why ultimately it shouldn't."

I think maybe he might have seen something the rest of us hadn't in that once you get to know India, you really do soon learn love it and value it as an amazing place."

However, there is one person in particular that I have taken to more than most and bizarrely, he is the man I thought was, and perhaps still is, the villain of the piece.

I refer of course to Suresh Kalmadi (pictured), chairman of the Organising Committee.

Kalmadi was the man blamed for everything that went wrong in Delhi, but having sat though around 10 press conferences with him in the last two weeks, he kind of strikes me as an Indian Jose Mourinho.

I say this because like the "special one", he has a charming smile, outrageous arrogance and the ability to make you laugh at will with a ridiculous comment.

But the thing I like most about Kalmadi is his refusal to admit that anything is wrong or confess there were ever any problems in hosting the Commonwealth Games.

One journalist asked him: "Are you worried about the ticketing problems and spectators not turning up to the event."

He responded: "There are no ticketing problems, we have hundreds of spectators flocking in and everything is fine."

Another enquired: "Why did no one turn up to watch the road race - were security stopping them?"

He responded: "There were many spectators and security here is fantastic."

Another said: "How did you feel being booed at the Opening Ceremony?"

"I wasn't booed - everyone was cheering for me because India loves me!"

And so on.

He rarely actually answers a straight question asked of him and less so provides honest answers, but you have to hand it to him - he's pure box-office.

Like marmite, you love him or hate him and I must admit that I been converted to a lover of India's man of the moment.

Comedy aside, Kalmadi has in fact, and against the odds, delivered a Games which has improved the infrastructure in Delhi, provided the city with much-needed world class sporting facilities and, far from devaluing the Commonwealth brand, has put an event that was in danger of losing relevance back on the map and making front and back page headlines despite its biggest stars being absent.

Any news is good news, as they say.

There has also been no outbreak of dengue fever, no problems with the Athletes' Village and no security problems regarding terrorist attacks, so in that regard, maybe there is a case for the media blowing things slightly out of proportion because things ran rather smoothly.

The legacy from this event, Kalmadi dreams, could be the 2020 Olympics.

Still a bit of a long-shot I think but I would like that to happen and I'd love to come back to India for it.

Like Kalmadi, the city has converted me into a fan with its colour, its vibrancy and superb hospitality.

They will certainly be the underdogs to host a 2020 Games but don't count this completely crazy yet wonderful city out.

And certainly don't bet against the force of nature that is Suresh Kalmadi being chairman of the Organising Committee for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

Stranger things have happened but perhaps not involving anyone quite as strange as India's "special one".

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames and is covering the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi