Delhi Games preparations losing steam

Canadian official remains concerned about safety issues in athletes' rooms

Last Updated: Friday, September 24, 2010 | 10:52 PM ET

By Doug Harrison, CBC Sports

Canadian Commonwealth Games officials did an about-face Friday, expressing concerns about the readiness of the athletes village in New Delhi, after being encouraged earlier in the day by work to address hygiene, electrical and plumbing problems.

By Friday, the number of labourers and the work they accomplished on Wednesday and Thursday had fallen off again, according to Scott Stevenson, director of sport for Commonwealth Games Canada.

"Today we saw some of the trends we have seen in the past, where there was a real pullback in activity, which was incredibly frustrating to say the least," said Stevenson in a conference call from the Indian capital. "There was a significant decrease in the volume of workers around the village and in general the amount of work that was able to get done."

He noted there are still concerns about safety issues in the rooms Canadian athletes will use during the Delhi Games, which begin Oct. 3.

Stevenson added athletes will be told to stay in Canada if the rooms do not meet acceptable standards. He did report half the competition venues look ready for training and nearly ready for competition.

To this point, about 50 of the 350 beds the Canadian team needs are ready. Elevators in the building don't work and untested fire hoses remain in cupboards no one can open.

"We are not prepared to put athletes into facilities that have deficiencies, as they relate to safety and security," said Andrew Pipe, president of Commonwealth Games Canada.

"Until we have the assurances that things like fire exits and fire stairwells are cleaned and clear, then we will not make the decision to move our athletes either to India or those premises."

Pipe also questioned how the Games would succeed.

"There has been a significant loss of credibility in the Games organizing committee," he said bluntly. "We are constantly bamboozled by indications that certain things will happen and then they don't.

"We have to maintain pressure."

A rapid push by Canadian officials in Delhi to ensure that the athletes village is clean and safe brought steady progress earlier Friday.

"I am in touch with the [Canadian] athletes across all sport and I have to tell you I am so amazed at their professionalism, optimism, attitude," Deacon said. "They have put the trust in their coaches and their Canadian sports federations and the Commonwealth Games to ensure that we are working on their best behalf."

Deacon was hopeful the first wave of Canadian athletes would arrive in India on Sunday night.

"We have to be very realistic in what we're doing," she said. "And what we're doing is opening up the communication to make sure we're sharing every ounce of information we have when we have it. I think that's been critical in moving forward."

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held an emergency meeting Thursday night and demanded officials make sure the games are successful.

"With only a few days left, the prime minister took personal initiative, saying that no stone should be left unturned to see that we successfully conduct the games," said Prithviraj Chavan of the prime minister's office.

The first foreign athletes — the English hockey and lawn bowling teams — have already arrived in New Delhi, though they planned to stay in hotels for a few days before moving to the village.

"Everybody is very excited, wants to get there, you know, get in with the action and get going really," Caroline Searle, spokeswoman for the English team, said as the athletes left the airport Friday.

Athletes assess conditions

Some of the athletes later toured the village to assess the conditions.

"The flats are spacious, which is good for a major Games, but there are bits and pieces to be done to bring them up to standard," hockey player Ben Middleton said in a statement. "A couple of days will make a difference."

Canadian badminton player Anna Rice wondered what effect poor living quarters could have on those athletes who begin competition Oct. 4 and might still be playing 10 days later.

"If we aren't sleeping well, eating well and staying mentally relaxed, it will start to have a significant impact on our performance," Rice wrote in her blog at CBCSports.ca.

"It would be one thing if we were going for a business conference where we only needed our minds, but to compete at our best, we need our minds and our bodies to be rarin' to go."

Rice heard the athletes village is situated beside a dump and downstream from a large river dam that could apparently burst and flood the village if water levels rise.

"Knowing October is the rainy season," said Rice, "I can't help but ask which urban engineer thought placing the village in this location was a smart choice."

Amid the criticism this week about conditions in the village, India committed major resources to rectifying the problems before the games, which bring together about 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories, begin.

Mike Fennell, the Commonwealth Games Federation president, who rushed to Delhi to deal with the troubles, was touring the village Friday morning and meeting with top athletic officials from participating countries. He will also meet with K.M. Chandrasekhar, the Indian cabinet secretary and the prime minister's top aide for the games.

Fennell's staff informed him that "considerable improvements have been made within the village," he said in a statement. "It is vital that all remedial work that has already started continues with the greatest urgency."

Perry Crosswhite, the head of Australia's Commonwealth Games Association, was upbeat as well.

"I am very pleased with the village as of now," he said in New Delhi.

Daily reviews of progress

There were still problems with water in the basement inside the village, but Delhi officials promised it would be fixed by Friday night, he said.

Crosswhite said that "as of now" the Australian team would arrive in Delhi on Monday: "We are on for the Games."

Athletes from New Zealand will also attend but officials will make daily reviews of progress in their accommodation and security, the New Zealand Olympic Committee announced Friday. Its athletes will begin arriving in the Indian capital starting Tuesday.

New Zealand cyclist Greg Henderson, who has won four medals at previous games, pulled out Friday, the latest to do so. Several teams deferred travelling to Delhi, and a few sports officials even suggested the games could be postponed or cancelled.

But England's decision Thursday to send its more than 500 athletes to the games gave a huge boost to the event.

At least nine athletes have withdrawn from the Games in recent days because of concern for their health and safety, and the president of Australia's Olympic Committee said Friday that India should not have been awarded the games in the first place. New Delhi won the right to host over Hamilton, Ont.

Organizers have struggled with financial scandals, an outbreak of dengue fever, the collapse of a footbridge leading to the main stadium and security fears after the Sunday shooting of two tourists outside one of New Delhi's top attractions. A Muslim militant group took responsibility for the shooting.

The cost of the Games, pegged at less than $100 million US in 2003, has skyrocketed, with estimates ranging from $3 billion to more than $10 billion.

A statement said chef de mission Craig Hunter and his colleagues are seeing "improved levels of resourcing which are required to resolve the significant operational issues." It added, however, that they will continue to monitor the situation daily to ensure the village and other venues meet their standards.

Nevertheless, criticism continued, with Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates saying India should never have been awarded the games.

"The problem is the Commonwealth Games Federation is under-resourced," he said. "It doesn't have the ability to monitor the progress of cities in the way the [International] Olympic Committee does."