Games ‘should not have gone to India’

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates told reporters: “In hindsight, no, they shouldn’t have been awarded the games.

He blamed the present situation, which has seen criticism over unfinished athletes’ accommodation in New Delhi and concerns expressed over security, on the fact that the Commonwealth Games Federation is under-resourced.

“It doesn’t have the ability (…) to monitor the progress of cities in the way the Olympic committee does.”

Mr Coates suggested that if the Commonwealth Games Federation had been able to monitor the situation in Delhi, “then certainly something would have been done a lot sooner, because obviously the venues are not ready.”

Meanwhile, the president of the CGF, Mike Fennell, has said he has been heartened by the “considerable improvements” made to the facilities for the 2010 games.

He told the federation’s official website: “It is good to be in Delhi, and the briefing I’ve received from my CEO, Mike Hooper, last night was the considerable improvements have been made within the village, with further significant resources deployed.”

Scotland will compete
On Friday morning the Scottish team confirmed they will fly out to the games on Saturday, just days delaying flights due to health concerns. Earlier in the week Michael Cavanagh, the chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, declared the accommodation “unsafe and unfit for human habitation.”

The decision to take part comes following “assurances” from the organising committee that outstanding issues would be resolved proir to the teams arrival.

Mr Cavanagh told the press: “I am delighted that the Board has been able to confirm our intention to fly to the Games on Saturday as hoped.

“There will undoubtedly be challenges ahead in Delhi, but we are confident that these can be effectively managed by our Team management, who have done a fantastic job over the last week to ensure we could get to this position and we thank them for their unstinting efforts.”

England and Wales on board
The first England team athletes – the men’s hockey and the bowls teams – flew out from London last night.

The England team management said in a statement: “Commonwealth Games England and its 17 member sports today unanimously agreed they will go to the Delhi games.

The statement said CGE were now “seeing the improved levels of resourcing which are required to resolve the significant operational issues, but we will continue to monitor the situation daily to ensure the village and stadia are safe and fit for purpose”.

Wales have confirmed they will send their team, while said they had been heartened by the organisers’ statements. The Welsh team has sought guarantees over the safety of the accommodation on offer.