Delhi has taken an absolute battering in the worldwide media, due to its complete lack of disorganisation and preparation that has threatened to completely destroy the Commonwealth Games. This week’s events have been nothing short of a disgrace, and although some athletes have pulled out for safety reasons, it is surprising that all 71 countries look set to take part in the showpiece event in India which starts next Sunday.
The first signs of trouble were highlighted by concerns over security levels for the athletes around the city, in case terrorists struck. Next, there were rumours of the standard of accommodation in the athletic village simply not being upto scratch. Then on Tuesday afternoon, a footbridge collapsed near the main stadium, injuring twenty-three people, the majority being workers on the site. Five of these were taken to hospital with critical injuries, though luckily, there were no fatalities. Government officials said that the bridge had been weakened by heavy rain within the area of recent. Since then, the roof at the weightlifting area has also collapsed, though no-one was hurt in this relatively ‘minor’ incident.
World and European triple jump champion Phillips Idowu has pulled out of the defence of his Commonwealth title that he brilliantly won in Melbourne four years ago. He announced the news on his Twitter homepage.
"I can't afford to risk my safety in the slightest. "All the press today about bridges collapsing and 23+ people being hurt, floods and inhabitable living conditions, getting my daughter ready for school this morning and seeing all of that put me off. "So statements like toughen up, I'm toughening up, was a tough choice to make but I made it for my children."
Pictures attained by the BBC on Friday afternoon showed the state that some of the accommodation is in. To be honest, a typical room at University’s Halls of Residence looks better, so no wonder why Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has entered into the debate, by saying that “time is running out.” However, it does look like the Games have been pulled back from the brink of being totally obliterated by the travelling nations.
Competitors were due to start arriving in preparation for the games on Thursday. After consultation with the leading delegates from all sports taking place, the English team began leaving for Delhi on Friday afternoon, with another batch due to fly out tomorrow. The Scottish, Australian and Canadian teams, who had all delayed their journeys out to Asia, before getting absolute total guarantee of necessary improvements, are all on the way out to the location in the next 48 hours. The only question mark of a country participating seems to be the New Zealand team, who seem to have been the country that has been the most outspoken about the events over the past five days.
The English team will also be missing the likes of Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and Lisa Dobrinsky. All four will not be competing due to fatigue of injuries, though Dobrinsky’s absence is also thought to be around a safety issue. Sprinting ace Usain Bolt will also not take part in the games for Jamaica, due to injury.
Considering that India was awarded the Commonwealth Games for 2010 way back in 2004, this is a startling story, but one that doesn’t surprise many. Warnings were adhered last year, and don’t seem to have been taken seriously by the Indian government. To me, although it can make for fantastic television, I think the Commonwealth Games are largely a waste of time, especially when so many top stars pull out of what used to be such a star-studied event on the sporting calendar every four years. I just hope that when the Commonwealth Games begin next Sunday, the two weeks of competition will go off without a hitch and make all the messy and confrontational build-up a storm in a teacup. However, that may take quite a bit of convincing for many experts and fans across the world.
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