Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Scotland, England undecided
NEW DELHI, SEPT 22
With just 11 days to go for the Commonwealth Games, participation of some of the top nations is in doubt with Australia, New Zealand and Canada still undecided on sending their teams for the October 3-14 Games.
England admitted their participation is “on a knife-edge” while Scotland athletes delayed their departure to Delhi and Wales also set a deadline of tomorrow evening for the organisers to certify all venues and Games Village are safe and secured.
These countries are worried that they still have not been able to visit the venues and have warned that “full strength” teams may not be able to come for the Games.
The dengue outbreak, shooting at the Jama Masjid, the “filthy” living conditions at the Games Village, a pedestrian bridge collapsing and the falling of a ceiling tile at wrestling hall of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the showpiece stadium of the Games, have raised serious question in the minds of the participating countries.
Besides Scotland, other participating countries like New Zealand, Canada, Australia and England are also having second thoughts over sending their teams for the Games.
Australian Sports Minister Mark Arbib said that team officials, who are in Delhi, have raised “grave concerns” about hygiene and cleanliness in the Games Village where the athletes are to stay.
“We are concerned and we are seeking more information from the high commission and asking them to have discussions with their Indian counterparts”, Arbib was quoted as saying by ABC Sport.
Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief executive Perry Crosswhite says he would support any athlete who withdraws from the Games.
“I think I understand why Dani Samuels decided not to go. She contacted us and told us and we accept that, and (she) probably will not be the last one. I’m sure we’ll potentially get others that decide for the same reasons.”
Canada also hinted that it is ready to pull out of the Games if India quickly fails to fix the problems.
In a teleconference Tuesday with Canada’s advance team of sport and security officials in Delhi, Commonwealth Games Canada president Andrew Pipe said: “This would have been an opportunity for India to shine. Instead, I think, it risks considerable international embarrassment unless some of these deficiencies can be addressed. It is not as if the Indian government has been unaware of these problems – and that is, I think, the source of so much frustration on the part of many of us.”
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said that he would support any athlete who decides not to participate in the Commonwealth Games and added: “They have to make their own decision on whether they feel comfortable or not with the risks involved.”
The prime minister said that it was up to the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) to decide whether or not to send a team.
Sport Wales has asked the organisers of the Commonwealth Games to confirm that the event venues and the accommodation arrangements are fully ready and safe to enable it decide on its next move.
There was, however, some hope for as Commonwealth Games England president Dame Kelly Holmes came to the defence of Delhi, saying that delays are part and parcel of any multi-sporting event.
Holmes, a former Olympic double gold medallist who visited Delhi last month along with Prime Minister David Cameron, said: “I compare it to the Athens Olympics when they were still planting trees on the day it opened. I don’t think it can get any worse than that.”
“It is a fair point with a nation where so many people are in unfortunate positions, but I really hope the Games bring a different energy and makes some people feel proud. I just hope the general public in India will be given the chance to go to the Games,” Holmes was quoted as saying.
Some 7,000 participants and officials from 71 countries and territories are expected to attend the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games, India’s biggest sporting event after the 1982 Asian Games it hosted in New Delhi.
