A lot of work still pending, says CGF president

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Michael Fennell is concerned about the pace of work at three Games' facilities but is largely satisfied with the capital's preparedness for the October 3-14 mega event.

Fennell, who was here to participate in the three-day Chefs de Mission seminar, did not share the details but named three facilities that he said were of high concerns.

"I must say that we have quite high level of concern about some of the facilities coming up for the Games. These are Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the swimming pool complex and the weightlifting venue," Fennell said.

"I do not want to go into the details of that, but a lot of work still needs to be done," said Fennell.

"We have interacted with the agencies concerned and they have assured us that details of preparation will be examined carefully and all possible actions will be taken. We have accepted their assurance.

"But besides these three all the other venues are either completed or in the state of completion," Fennell said.

The Nehru Stadium will host both the opening and closing ceremonies and the weightlifting events while the swimming venue is at Talkatora Garden Complex.

The CGF chief is pleased with the hockey World Cup venue Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and the Talkatora Stadium, where Commonwealth Boxing Championship is commencing on Friday.

"Along with the delegations, I also visited the venues. By and large a lot of work is going on there. In the National Stadium, hockey World Cup is being organised quite successfully and it looks an excellent venue.

"In another one boxing competition is starting tomorrow and that also looks a fine facility," he added.

Fennell also reiterated that security was high on their agenda and the CGF was happy with the measures being taken to ensure an incident-free Games.

"Security was high on our agenda during the meeting and we went through every aspect of the measures in detail. We also saw presentations by the Delhi Police chief about their planning for the Games. I am satisfied with all these.

"Now I can tell all the athletes that they should not be hesitant or have any concern because proper measures are being taken here to ensure their security," Fennell said.

Fennell was also happy with the new anti-doping facility.

"Not many countries do have such facilities. We are happy that World Anti-Doping Agency has also given their approval. We vow to make the Games free of doping," he said.