Another Collapse, More Withdrawals, Commonwealth Games 'On A Knife-Edge'

(ATR) A slew of high-profile withdrawals and yet another collapse make the day’s news out of Delhi ahead of the Commonwealth Games that open next week.

A section of false ceiling fell Wednesday inside Jawaharlal Nehru stadium a day after a footbridge collapsed outside the main Games venue, injuring 27.

Allegations of shoddy workmanship and low building standards have long plagued the preparations for Delhi, but mounting delays have nations questioning whether to come to India at all.

Competition is slated to begin Oct. 4, and monsoon rains have put construction far behind schedule.

"The condition of the residential zone has shocked the majority," CWG Federation president Michael Fennel said Tuesday in a statement, and chief executive Mike Hooper later told Indian media the apartment towers are "uninhabitable".

A who’s who of Commonwealth members – Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England among them – have expressed disapproval this week at living conditions in the Athletes Village.

But Scotland became Wednesday the first nation to actually delay arrivals to the Indian capital. Athletes were scheduled to depart Thursday, but team officials are holding them back for a few days until organizers can better prepare the living quarters.

Canada followed suit later Wednesday when the women's field hockey team and three shooters did not depart as planned.

England, meanwhile, is slated to send off its lawn bowls and men’s hockey team Thursday evening but will do so only with the blessing of Commonwealth Games England, which met Wednesday in London to assess the situation.

"We are acutely aware that there is a small window for action," CGE said Wednesday in a statement.

Chairman Andrew Foster later told British media the Games are hanging "on a knife-edge."

English Trio Add to High-Profile Withdrawals

The beleaguered Athletes Village is set to house 7,000 athletes and their families – for the moment.

Australian discus champion Dani Samuels pulled out Tuesday, and three of England’s medal hopefulsdid the same Wednesday.

Neither 400m Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu, triple jump world champion Phillips Idowu nor 1500m Commonwealth champion Lisa Dobriskey will compete in Delhi.

The list of eligible athletes to have withdrawn due to injury, fatigue, security concerns or otherwise includes Jamaican track stars Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser; Kenyan distance runners David Rudisha, Asbel Kiprop and Linet Masai; English marathoner Paula Radcliffe; and Australian tennis players Lleyton Hewitt and Samantha Stosur.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee took matters into its own hands Wednesday in an effort to ensure its’ athletes participation.

Four security officials appointedby the country’s National Intelligence Agency will accompany the squad for the duration of the Oct. 3-14 mega-event.

The team’s chef de mission will also demand organizers to move her team elsewhere should housing not be ready for their Monday arrival.

"As the construction work is still continuing, anything could happen," Patience Shikwambana told South African media.

"Fortunately, we are not taking a large team as we usually do, so, we can all stay in one apartment block."

A national team has yet to withdraw, but Australia and New Zealand threaten to be the first.

Many had viewed the competition as a stepping stone to India’s first Olympic Games. Whether the subcontinent can stage its first Commonwealth Games remains to be seen.

Media Watch

The National Post says the Commonwealth Games will make or break India’s reputation worldwide.

The Vancouver Sun says the Games are just a sporting event, and one that could go fine at that.

Written by Matthew Grayson.