Mass Walkout Threat To Games
AUSTRALIA and England overnight gave the organisers of the Delhi Commonwealth Games an ultimatum to ensure that all competition venues and the athletes village were brought up to standard before competitors would fly in.
The implicit threat to pull out of the competition was issued after team chiefs met in the Indian capital to discuss what one called the “glacial progress” in finishing off venues.
Team officials arrived at the athletes' village to find excrement in bedrooms and faulty wiring and plumbing. Part of the ceiling of the newly-built Delhi Commonwealth Games weightlifting venue collapsed yesterday, raising fresh concerns over safety.
After seven years of preparation, the Games are due to open on October 3.
A string of high-profile athletes already pulled out of the event, including England’s world champion triple jumper Phillips Idowu, who announced on Tuesday that he was pulling out because of security fears.
Yesterday, the Welsh team suggested it might follow suit, publicly questioning whether athletes’ safety could be ensured - and asking organisers for assurances by 5pm London time.
Team Wales later updated that statement to include other teams with advance parties in the Indian capital, including England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
"A number of countries, together with Wales, have given the Organising Committee a deadline of this (Wednesday) evening to confirm if all venues and the Games Village are fit for purpose.”
A spokeswoman for the England team confirmed that team chiefs including Craig Hunter, the England chef de mission, met in Delhi and sent a letter to the organising committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation.
She could not confirm the content of the letter, although Sir Andrew Foster, chairman of Commonwealth Games England, said earlier that the whole event was "hanging on a knife-edge".
