Improvements in Commonwealth Games 2010

Teams See Improvement as Delhi Games Planners Race to Be Ready

Commonwealth Games team officials said conditions at the athletes’ village in New Delhi are improving as organizers race to ensure India is ready to host the Oct. 3-14 multisport event.

After collapsing beds and invading snakes over the weekend heaped further embarrassment on the local organizing committee, officials from countries including Australia, England and New Zealand said they were satisfied with the progress.

Sheila Dikshiet, Delhi’s Chief Minister, said yesterday that workers are “rushing against time” to finish apartments, clean dirty toilets and scrub staircases before competition between teams from 71 countries and territories begins. Mike Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said Sept. 25 that there was a “considerable amount of work” remaining.

“I’m seeing that work first hand and they’re doing an unbelievable job in there,” Steve Moneghetti, the Australian team’s chef de mission, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The first batch of 48 English athletes moved into the village yesterday after staying in hotels as the cleanup continued over the weekend. Another 36 members of the English team are scheduled to arrive today.

“It’s not perfect but the accommodation is acceptable,” Craig Hunter, head of the England team delegation in Delhi, told the British Broadcasting Corp.

The buildup to the Games, aimed to showcase India’s economic might, has been marred by the collapse of a footbridge next to the main stadium, an outbreak of dengue fever, monsoon floods and security concerns after the Sept. 19 shooting of two Taiwanese nationals near a mosque.

Beds and Snakes

Indian boxer Akhil Kumar told journalists the bed in his village room collapsed Sept. 25 as he sat on it for the first time, Press Trust of India reported.

The Times of India newspaper yesterday published a front- page photograph of a cobra snake it said was rescued from the event’s tennis stadium. South Africa’s high commissioner to India said another snake was found at the weekend in a room allocated to one of the country’s athletes.

Several athletes, including world discus champion Dani Samuels of Australia and Elena Baltacha, Britain’s No. 1-ranked female tennis player, have withdrawn citing health and safety concerns. While individuals have pulled out, Fennell said all the competing teams are sending squads.

New Zealand, which last week delayed the arrival of its athletes into the Indian capital because of a “long list of outstanding issues” including plumbing, wiring and leaks, said competitors would begin moving into the village today as planned.

“Facilities are now safe and secure,” the New Zealand Olympic Committee, which is responsible for the country’s Commonwealth Games team, said today in a statement.

Scotland’s archers, lawn bowlers and shooters, who had their arrival delayed by three days because of the readiness of the village, yesterday worked for the first time at their respective training venues, Commonwealth Games Scotland said.

“The venue is very impressive and it’s all looking in great shape,” Scottish bowler David Peacock said on Team Scotland’s website.