• Commonwealth Games

'Considerable improvements' ease Delhi fears

The England hockey team prepare to fly to Delhi © PA Photos

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The threat of a widespread boycott of the Commonwealth Games appear to have subsided as the first wave of British athletes begin to arrive in India.

The England hockey and bowls teams fly to Delhi on Friday as both the English and Welsh teams confirmed they intended to send full teams to the Games.

However, a number of British cyclists have joined an ever-growing list of absentees. Wales' Geraint Thomas cited health concerns for his withdrawal, while England's Ian Stannard and Ben Swift and the Isle of Man's Peter Kennaugh also pulled out. Thomas' Team Sky team-mate Greg Henderson also made the decision to withdraw from the New Zealand team over concerns for his safety.

"It's about my family, it's not just about Greg Henderson any more, I've got to think about my wife and little girl Charlie and they don't want me going to the Commonwealth Games," Henderson said in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Ahead of an inspection of the facilities, Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell revealed 'considerable improvements' had been made to the athletes' village, which had been described by Team Scotland on Tuesday as unsafe and unfit for human habitation.

"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 (Sheila) Dikshit, to make good what was a concerning situation," Fennell told the federation's official website.

"I am looking forward to spending the morning with my colleagues from the Commonwealth Games movement and evaluating the situation with all the key stakeholders.''

It comes as the organising committee have admitted to the scale of the problem and apologised to competing nations.

"I genuinely feel sorry for what has happened and would like to apologise, not only on my behalf and on behalf of the organising committee but for everyone connected. This is a collective failure," said AK Mattoo, the organising committee secretary general.

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