Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) No more rubbishing of conditions at the Commonwealth Games Village. Every visiting delegation has nothing but fulsome praise, the latest to join the chorus is Australian chef de mission Steve Moneghetti who said he was pleased with the facilities at the Village.
“We are pleased and happy with facilities at the Village,” said Moneghetti, a marathon gold medallist at the 1994 Games at Victoria in Canada

The Australians, however, were not comfortable with the security restrictions over the movement of the athletes till the Games are over, but they are not overly complaining.

Moneghetti said that till now 80 athletes and officials, from lawn bowls, artistic gymnastics, women’s hockey and netball, have arrived and the rest of the contingent will be here Thursday.

For a change there is no talk of shabby accommodation, security fears, mosquito-borne dengue fever, and questions over the safety of infrastructure.

Moneghetti said though they have not heard anything to the effect from the Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA), the Games security advisory is not to wear their team jerseys outside the venues to avoid being possible terror targets. Athletes from England, Canada and New Zealand have also similarly been advised not to go out sporting their colours.

“We have not got any official word from ACGA on the security advisory, but security in general here is perfect and the agencies are not taking any chances with the athletes. It is too dangerous to leave the Games Village. They have some strict security procedure in place,” Moneghetti told reporters at the Village.

“We cannot move around freely. The athletes have to come back to the Village after finishing the events and can only go to cheer their fellow countrymen at other venues. They will be allowed to move freely only after the Games are over,” he said.

Moneghetti said the swimming team, which has been training in Malaysia, citing reservations over security, will surely be coming.

“I haven’t heard anything about the swimmers from Kuala Lumpur. They have been briefed about security and they are happy. The whole swimming team is coming.”

Moneghetti said that Australia will be pushing the England in the medals tally at the Games. In the 2006 edition in Melbourne, Australia topped the medals tally with 222 medals

“The main competition here will be between Australia and England. England have spent double the amount in preparations for the Games as compared to Australia. Delhi is a neutral ground and we want to test our abilities. Ultimately money becomes a very good factor. But it is not the dollar value, but it is the efficiency of the dollar spent. For us it is not about completely dominating the Games, but performing well. Canada is also coming up well and it is good for the Commonwealth,” he said.