High profile British athletes pull out over safety and hygiene concerns
Top athletes are snubbing the Commonwealth Games as safety fears and complaints of filthy accommodation have left the event in crisis and India facing a national shame with the opening just days away.
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| Games in crisis: British 400 metre athlete Christine Ohuruogu pulled out of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games yesterday. Pic/Getty Images |
The latest high-profile withdrawals from the Delhi Games include the English Olympic 400m gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu and world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu, with Australia warning more of its competitors might follow.
Their decisions come after complaints by some teams about the state of the athletes' village, safety fears due to the collapse of a footbridge near one of the venues and question marks over security after a gun attack on tourists.
England's Idowu wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter on Tuesday: "Sorry people, but I have children to think about. My safety is more important to them than a medal."
OptimisticGames organisers have downplayed the mounting concerns at home and abroad about the October 3-14 event and said they still expected a "very good" field of athletes.
Delhi is expecting to host some 7,000 athletes and officials from countries and territories mostly from the former British empire for the multi-sport event that was meant to showcase India on the international stage.
"Some people may not come due to injuries or some other reason but we have a very good field taking part in the Games," organising committee secretary-general Lalit Bhanot told AFP.
"I can reassure everyone that the athletes will enjoy their stay in New Delhi. The stadiums are world class and so is the Games village. We will be ready by the time they start arriving this week."
But Australia warned that more competitors could withdraw, following on the heels of world discus champion Dani Samuels, who made a tearful withdrawal over health and security worries on Tuesday.
Minister for Sport Mark Arbib said Australia's Commonwealth Games chief Perry Crosswhite was expecting "a number more" to follow and that he would be imposing tough rules restricting athletes' travel in New Delhi.u00a0
