The UK Commonwealth teams — England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Jersey — could be on the verge of pulling out of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi due to fears over the safety and security of their athletes. Three English athletes already pulled out of the championships on Wednesday.
The CWG teams from Scotland and Jersey have delayed their departure for New Delhi, Wales is poised to decide on its participation late on Wednesday night and England has refused to comment, only describing the situation as being on a “knife-edge”.
The situation has been aggravated by the decision of world champion Philips Idowu to pull out of the Games. “All the press today about bridges collapsing and 23-plus people being hurt, floods and unhabitable living conditions, getting my daughter ready for school this morning and seeing all of that put me off. I can’t afford to risk my safety in the slightest,” he said on his Twitter account. “It was a tough choice to make, but I made it for my children,” he said.
Explaining that he could not risk his safety, Idowu said: “I understand people will be disappointed that I will not be competing. I am disappointed. If you know me as an athlete you will know these Games mean a lot to me. It’s the champs in which I won my first medal. And four years ago won my first gold, which kicked off the success I have in my career to date.”
Idowu was not available for any interviews with the media and his agent said that it was likely the athlete could change his mind after a few days.
Defending champions Christine Ohuruogu (also Olympic 400m champion) and Lisa Dobriskey also pulled out of the Games due to injuries, according to UK Athletics. Ohuruogu felt a cramp during a training session last weekend and decided to pull out of the Games rather than risk irritating the injury to her left quadriceps. Dobriskey withdrew on medical advice from UK Athletics doctors to rest and focus on winter season training working towards the 2011 indoor season.
The collapse of the false ceiling in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi pushed Team Wales to issue the organisers of the Delhi Games a deadline of Wednesday evening to confirm that all the venues and the Games Village were fit to be used. “The health and safety of our team has always been our top priority — which is why we’ve been so desperate to resolve the issues in the Games Village. With yesterday’s news of the bridge collapse and now the roof of the weightlifting venue, we have to take a step back and examine how safe it is to bring athletes into this environment,” the Wales Commonwealth Council said on Wednesday.
It will take a decision on whether to take part in the Games after the response from New Delhi. “We have given the organising committee a deadline of this evening to confirm if all venues and the Games Village are fit for (their) purpose. On the basis of that announcement, we will be contacting athletes via our team managers and advise them of the latest position and will issue a further update,” it added.
Team Scotland on Wednesday stopped its first batch of athletes from travelling to New Delhi. The board of Commonwealth Games Scotland decided on Wednesday to delay the departure of Team Scotland’s first party of 41 athletes and staff, due to travel on Thursday, its chairman Michael Cavanagh said.
“By delaying the arrival of our athletes by a few days, we hope to give the Delhi 2010 organising committee the necessary time to address the concerns that have been raised by both the Commonwealth Games Federation and the countries which arrived early. We have discussed this with the sports involved and are in agreement that this is the best course of action under the circumstances. Whilst this is an untimely alteration to their plans, it will ultimately cause less disruption to their final training and preparation than if they were to arrive in the Games Village which is not yet fit for purpose and fully functional,” Mr Cavanagh added.
Northern Ireland is sticking to its schedule of sending athletes on September 27, but that totally depends on the report of two senior team members who are in New Delhi. “Both are very experienced having attended a number of Games in a management capacity and were present at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune in 2008; therefore are aware of the setup and indeed the Indian culture,” the NI council said on Wednesday evening.
Team England will make a decision in the next 48 hours. England Commonwealth Council chairman Sir Andrew Foster said the Games organisers faced “a critical 24 to 48 hours.”
“Our staff have been round all 17 sports venues and they are in good order, so the key remaining feature which there’s a problem with is the village. The other problems have been resolved,” he told the BBC. “It’s a situation that hangs on a knife-edge.”