‘Filthy’ Games Village gets OK, Australia, England confirm...

An eyesore for days, the Games Village has suddenly seen a turnaround in perception; CWG federation chief Mike Fennell said he was happy with the considerable improvement in the Village even as, after days of indecision, Australia and New Zealand confirmed their presence in the October 3 to 14 event and also gave the thumbs up to the Games Village, which they had dubbed “filthy and uninhabitable” just a couple of days ago.

Their confirmation followed Fennell’s inspection of the Village on Friday morning during which he took stock of the athletes’ living area, accompanied by CWG organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and secretary-general Randhir Singh, among others.

But there was no stopping individual pullouts, with Welsh world and Olympic champion cyclist Geraint Thomas, Isle of Man rider Peter Kennaugh and the England pair of Ben Swift and Ian Stannard, along with Kiwi rider Greg Henderson announcing their withdrawal citing health and security fears.

Amid the pullouts, the first batch of English athletes, including their hockey and lawn bowling squad, landed in Delhi, but headed to hotels instead of the Village.

They are expected to move into the Village by Monday.

A few Australian athletes have, however, checked into the Village despite previous concerns about hygiene. Reports said that Canada, which had delayed sending their sporting contingents, has also expressed satisfaction and its athletes will start arriving in Delhi from Sunday.

Meanwhile, Fennell also met cabinet secretary KM Chandrashekar to discuss concerns related to the Games. Kalmadi, along with senior officials of the Delhi government, was also present in the meeting. “It is good to be in Delhi, and the briefing I’ve received from my CEO, Mike Hooper, last night was that considerable improvements have been made within the Village, with further significant resources deployed by Delhi chief minister, Mrs Dikshit, to make good what was a concerning situation,” Fennell said in a statement. “I am certainly pleased to arrive in Delhi to the news that Australia has moved into the village to ready for the arrival of their athletes, and with the conformation late yesterday that England and Wales will be on their way to Delhi shortly,” the statement added.

“Already so many athletes from around the Commonwealth have started their journey to Delhi. Our job across the next week is to help ensure that all the corrective work is completed in good time. We must ensure that a suitable environment is provided to ensure the welfare of the athletes and their support staff,” he added.

He, however, had a word of caution and said “it is vital that all remedial work that has already started continues with the greatest urgency.”

— With inputs from agencies