Commonwealth Games farce continues 4, October 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in Random.Tags: Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth games failures, Commonwealth games problems, Delhi commonwealth games, Delhi problems, Delhi security scanners, Dengue fever Delhi, Saftey certificates Commonwealth games
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I think that I’ll keep a track of all the absurdities and mess-ups that transpire in Delhi’s Commonwealth Games.
- The 10m diving board is apparently 10.7m tall.
- There is a lack of start lists so athletes do not know who they are up against.
- Timing systems have not been checked and have not even been installed at some venues.
- Many missed the opening ceremony because of “chaos” on the metro. The main station is still a building site.
- The scales at the boxing weigh-in are significantly wrong.
- The safety certificates for the buildings were – so I believe – faked.
- So far one bridge has collapsed…
- There are examples of Dengue fever in the village.
- The track and field in the stadium are in a deplorable state after the opening ceremony. Vast areas of the track are being relaid as is the grass. Athletes are reportedly severely concerned by this. This level of mess is “unparalleled in the history” of the games.
- Some security scanners apparently do not work.
- Mile long queues for tickets yet still most venues are mostly empty.
- Rumors abound suggesting that thousands of beggars have simply been bussed out of the city.
- The sandpit is seemingly infested with moths.
- 2/3 of the British swimming squad (around 40 athletes) have come down with serious stomach upsets. So much so that Francesca Halsall who was tipped by the Australian team to get at least three Gold medals came 10th in one race and was copiously ill during another. She was taken from the pool where she vomited on the sidelines.
- The latest theory is that the pool water was contaminated with pigeon droppings. Australian swimmers have fallen ill too.
- The water supply to the toilets at the swimming center broke. Toilets could not be flushed and people could not wash their hands either.
- The English sprinter Mark Lewis Francis lost out on getting the Gold medal in the 100m final after his blocks slipped at the start. He had to settle for silver.
I’ll update this as and when more things go wrong.
The Gulf blog 
More importantly I read that venues weren’t finished in time for security measures and equipment to be fully installed and tested. What with religious tensions let alone terrorism, and accidents, I hope the games won’t claim lives! Beside that, diving boards and scales are trivialities…
I (wrongly) took those for a given, assuming that everyone would know those instances already.
Cheers