Wellington – New Zealand Thursday joined a growing list of nations delaying their Commonwealth Games teams' travel to India and said they were mulling alternative competitions as Australia conceded they may withdraw.
New Zealand Games officials said concerns over unsafe and unhygienic accommodation in the athletes' village in New Delhi had not been met, forcing them to join Canada and Scotland in delaying the team's departure.
The move came as New Zealand and Australia confirmed an alternative swimming meet was on the agenda if the Games are cancelled amid concerns over security, poor accommodation and shoddy building standards that led to a bridge collapse.
“It's tremendously disappointing,” New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) president Mike Stanley said of the delay.
“The long list of outstanding issues has made it clear the village will now not be ready for New Zealand athletes to move in as planned,” he said.
Stanley, whose organisation is responsible for the country's 192 athletes at the October 3-14 sporting festival, said the Delhi organising committee and Commonwealth Games Federation needed to resolve the problems urgently.
“This is not a matter of comfort or luxury, it's a matter of hygiene and safety,” he said.
The athletes were scheduled to begin arriving in Delhi over the weekend but Stanley advised them to would hold off until Tuesday after making a flying visit to assess the situation in India first hand.
New Zealand had already been allocated new accommodation in the village after an NZOC inspection found their original living quarters were unacceptable but chief de mission Dave Currie said there were still major problems.
“There are still issues with plumbing, wiring and leaks,” he said.
New Zealand may yet withdraw from the Games if a security assessment due to be completed Friday concludes there is a risk to athletes.
In Australia, Sports Minister Mark Arbib said individual athletes should decide whether or not to travel to the Indian capital but added that the official stance “could change”.
“At the moment... the decision whether to go or not to go is a decision for athletes themselves. That is the way it is now, that's the way it has been for any large event,” Arbib told public broadcaster ABC late on Wednesday.
“Obviously in terms of going forward things could change.”
The withdrawal of Australia's 370 athletes would rob the games of one of its major forces. The country's world discus champion Dani Samuels has already pulled out over health and safety fears.
Swimming Australia (SA) confirmed Commonwealth swimming officials began canvassing the possibility of taking their teams to another venue at last month's Pan Pacific championships in California.
“A conversation took place looking at all sorts of eventualities. That was something that was discussed at the Pan Pacs but nothing more has been discussed since,” a SA spokesman said.
Swimming New Zealand chief executive Mike Byrne told the BBC he was trying to remain optimistic the Games would proceed but would look at other options.
“If the unthinkable happens and the Games are cancelled, one of the things we need to look at is if there is another competition we can take part in,” he said.
Australia's foreign affairs department has warned of a “high risk of terrorism” during the Games after gunmen attacked a tour bus on Sunday, wounding two Taiwanese holidaymakers.
Canada has said it may reconsider travelling its concerns are not addressed, while England's Games chief Andrew Foster declared the event was on a “knife-edge”.
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also said time was “running short” for the troubled Games, which are meant to start in just 10 days' time. – Sapa-AFP