Oz says pressure will be on British CW team to perform ahead of London Olympics

September 29th, 2010 - 2:05 pm ICT by ANI  

Sydney, Sep 29 (ANI): Australian chef de mission Steve Moneghetti has said the pressure will be on the British Commonwealth team to perform in Delhi with the 2012 London Olympics not being too far.

Australia is sending the biggest away Games team to Delhi consisting of 378 athletes in order to overtake their most successful Games haul of 221 medals won at Melbourne, including 84 gold.

Asked if there was pressure on Australia to provide a strong showing ahead of the London Games, Moneghetti said: “No - but I am sure England are very conscious of that.”

“It’s not something the Australian team is concerned about. I think they (England) are pushing up the rivalry more than us, that’s what England like to do. And they have got the home games (in 2012) so the pressure is on the British teams I think,” he said.

England combined with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as Great Britain to finish ahead of Australia on the medal tally in Beijing, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Despite finishing a distant second in Melbourne with 36 gold, England is still expected to threaten Australia’s dominance in Delhi as they count down to hosting the Olympics.

“It is going to be difficult to match that, obviously it was a home games. The set up here is different and the sports have changed - triathlon and basketball are not on the program and there is the introduction of archery, wrestling and tennis,” Moneghetti said. (ANI)

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