As if the withdrawal of world and Olympic sprint king Usain Bolt and a number of top Australian swimmers was not bad enough, Britain’s four-time Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Chris Hoy will not be seen in action either at the forthcoming 19th Common-wealth Games in Delhi.
Hoy, who has won golds at the last two Commonwealth Games for Scotland, said he was withdrawing because of a clash with the sport’s European Championships, which have recently been nominated as a qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Another British gold winner, Victoria Pendleton, too, is in doubt for the October 3 to 14 event in Delhi. Even Queen Elizabeth II will not attend the 19th edition of the Games here — the first time she will not be at the opening of a Commonwealth Games since her coronation. She has instead asked Prince Charles to stand in on her behalf. The BBC quoted the 34-year-old Hoy as saying: “It’s a decision that’s been forced on me by the nature of the qualification process for the London Olympics. The Olympics has to take precedence over everything.” The Common-wealth Games has been hit by a raft of problems, from massive cost over-runs to delays in infrastructure and sports-related projects.
Games organisers have also had to work overtime to ensure there will be no withdrawals on security grounds with Australia and England already having expressed such fears before agreeing to send their full teams.