Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 18 (IANS) Sports Minister M.S. Gill Sunday lamented the withdrawal of some of the world’s leading athletes from the New Delhi Commonwealth Games and said the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) should ensure the participation of star sportspersons for the Oct 3-14 mega-event.
Gill said it is sad to see that international sportspersons do not attach much importance to the Commonwealth Games.

“The stadiums we have built are world class but it is sad that some of the leading sportspersons are not coming to Delhi,” Gill said while inaugurating the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex here.

“It appears that for the Olympic Games, performance in continental events like Asian Games, and Europeans Championships are taken into account. And because of this, the sportspersons don’t attach the same importance to the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“I request Mr. Michael Fennell (Commonwealth Games Federation chief) to bring athletes for the Games, not thousands of officials. He should make sure that stars like (Usain) Bolt, (Shelly-Ann) Fraser, (Chris) Hoy, who will be the main attraction for the people of India, participate in the event,” Gill said.

“The star athletes pulling out from the Games does not please me or the Organising Committee.”

Renowned British cyclist Chris Hoy, a multiple Olympic gold medallist, is the latest to pullout of the Commonwealth Games as he would be competing in the European Championships which carry qualification points for the 2012 London Olympics.

Earlier, triple Olympic and double World sprint champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica decided to skip the event. Another Jamaican and Olympic 100 metres champion Shelly-Ann Fraser has also pulled out.

Gill said he will discuss the issue in the meeting of Commonwealth sports ministers in Delhi.

Gill said the Weightlifting stadium and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which will host the opening and closing ceremony, will be ready in next few days

“All stadiums will be handed over to the Organising Committee (OC) by August 1 as per agreement of SAI and OC.”

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi were also present during the ceremony.

The swimming pool complex, which was constructed in 1982 for the Asian Games, has now been upgraded and renovated with the latest state-of-art facilities. With a seating capacity of 5,000 spectators, the stadium has the largest cohestrand — a new technology for cable-supported bridges — elliptical shaped aluminium roof, the first of its kind in the world.

The stadium is also the largest covered aquatic stadium in the country having Olympic sized swimming and diving pools with a six-lane warm-up pool. The work was done by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for the venue owner Sports Authority of India.