Olympic Newsdesk -- Slow Ticket Sales in Delhi; IIHF Confident NHL Will Appear in Sochi

Delhi Suffers Slow Ticket Sales, More Withdrawals

The latest question for the trouble-plagued Commonwealth Games is whether spectators will attend the competition, opening Sunday.

Tickets remain for most of the 17 sports as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.

Delhi organizers released roughly two million tickets, and rumors of slow sales have long plagued the Oct. 3-14 mega-event.

AFP reported Wednesday that swimming fans can still pay between $4.40 and $22.30 to see the 100m men’s final, traditionally the competition’s hottest ticket.

"Sales have picked up a bit in the last 10 days," a saleswoman told the news agency after she confirmed availability for all major events.

Organizers have kept all sales figures under wraps.

These ticket troubles come as little surprise considering the lingering security concerns and high-profile withdrawals that continue to jeopardize the Games’ success.

800m world champions Caster Semenya and Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi of South Africa became the latest medal hopefuls to pull out of the Games, both citing back injuries on Tuesday.

"[Semenya] had been suffering serious lower back pain and had not been comfortable during her last few races," the South African Olympic committee said in a statement.

The 19-year-old was held out for 11 months while the IAAF conducted gender tests to determine if she could compete against female runners. She was cleared in July and won her first major race in almost a year last month at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, site of her 2009 World Championship win.

Neither 400m Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu, triple jump world champion Phillips Idowu nor 1500m Commonwealth champion Lisa Dobriskey are making the trip for England.

The list of eligible athletes to have withdrawn due to injury, fatigue, security concerns or otherwise includes Jamaican track stars Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser; Kenyan distance runners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.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Michael Fennell told Around the Rings the spate of snubs disappointed him but would not compromise the level of competition in Delhi.

"There are still a lot of other high-profile athletes that will be taking part in the 17 different sports," he said Friday.

With the opening ceremony just four days away, that remains to be seen.

Hockey Chief Confident NHL Will Play In Sochi

International Ice Hockey Federation President Rene Fasel says he will find a way to bring NHL players to the 2014 Winter Olympics.

"Now we are working together to go to Sochi," he told USAHockey.com.

"We will find a solution, I’m sure we will."

Fasel and IIHF secretary general Horst Lichtner met Tuesday with USA Hockey at its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Lichtner said negotiations are happening at the "right time".

"Talking to the NHL and with [NHL Commissioner] Gary Bettman and doing the steps at the right time and not whenit’s two years before the [Olympics].

"All things are on the table and we can tackle most of them."

Fasel said Vancouver was a high point for Olympic hockey but Torino was a low point.

"We had the tournament in February [2006] and from the logistical side with the rooms and everything it was very difficult," he explained.

"And the schedule was difficult, six games in eight days. That’s why we changed, together with the [National Hockey League Players Association]… the format for Vancouver."

Lichtner echoed Fasel’s comments, heaping praise on the sport’s showing earlier this year.

"Vancouver was the biggest global platform for hockey, there is no doubt," he said.

"It has never been like this in 100 years. We would all be stupid if we gave it up."

Bettman was non-committal at last month’s hockey summit in Toronto, indicating talks for a new collective bargaining agreement in 2012 may decide whether the league pauses mid-season to allow professionals to play in the next Winter Olympics.

Fasel also said the federationis working to raise the profile of women’s hockey and to eliminate the competitive discrepancy that exists at the sport’s top tier.

"We are actually putting a plan together with the first priority to reduce the gap between the top two teams, U.S. and Canada, and the rest of the world," he said.

"There are ideas such as bringing players to North America or hosting a training camp in Europe with North American coaches."

The Sochi Winter Games open Feb. 7, 2014.

Salzburg Shutters Olympic Committee

Reports indicate the Salzburg governor Gabi Burgstaller will not allow the Austrian city to bid for the Olympics during her reign in office.

Burgstaller ended the committee studying if Salzburg should bid for a Winter Olympics in the future.

Salzburg bid for the 2014 Olympics but lost to Sochi.

According to the report, Burgstaller claims the city cannot compete with the financial resources of other cities bidding for the Games, and she criticized the process of bidding.

The earliest Olympics Salzburg could bid for would be the 2022 Olympics.

Toronto Pan American Games Logo

The organizing committee for the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games unveiled a new logo Tuesday.

In a press release the committee said the logo "is inspired by the figurative styles of pre-Columbian aboriginal art forms throughout the Pan Americas" and "draws on ancient sport traditions" from the Americas.

"Today’s launch of the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games look is an exciting milestone as we prepare for the Games," said Gary Lunn, Minister of State for sport in a statment.

"The new look will be the face of the Games. Hosting international sport events like this brings significant benefits, not just to the region, but to the country as a whole. See you in Toronto in 2015!"

Toronto unveiled the logo at a street party.

The Toronto 2015 Pan American Games will take place July 10-26, and the Parapan Games Aug. 7-14.

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula III.