Australia praises athletes' village

The first Australian arrivals in the Commonwealth Games village in New Delhi praised the facility on Tuesday after a week of frantic work by organisers to clean up athletes' rooms.

"It's pretty good," Lynsey Armitage, a member of the lawn bowls team, told reporters. "I've been here for the last two days. The dining hall is fantastic."

She explained that her family had been uneasy about her travelling to India because of safety concerns, but she described security as "top notch".

"I feel completely safe and secure," she said.

Australia's chef de mission for the Games, former distance runner Steve Moneghetti, also praised the Indian organisers, who were embarrassed by a series of revelations about conditions in the village last week.

"They are trying very hard, honestly. We've thrown up a few concerns and they're working 24/7 to address them," he said, adding that no other Australian athletes were considering pulling out.

Australian discus world champion Dani Samuels, cyclist Travis Meyer and table tennis player Stephanie Sang have cancelled their plans to take part.

Sharelle McMahon, a Commonwealth Games veteran who first competed in the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, said she was surprised by the number of police armed with machine guns but was still optimistic about the event.

"It is certainly a different experience. We were really excited last night to arrive here," the 32-year-old captain of Australia's netball team told AFP. "It looks great. We've got the day off today and training tomorrow."

About 100 Australian athletes have already checked in to the village and about 250 more will arrive over the next four days, officials said.

The athletes' village was described last week by the Games Federation and a handful of leading countries as "unfit for human habitation" amid a host of complaints about wiring, water-logging, faulty toilets and builders' rubble.

The criticism brought the October 3-14 multi-sport event to the brink of disaster after several countries hinted that they might pull out unless organisers improved the village.