Australia’s main concern with the upcoming Commonwealth Games in New Delhi is not corruption claims but security, the Australian government said on Wednesday.
Three members of the organising committee for the October 3-14 event in the Indian capital were sacked amid corruption charges. “It’s not the first time that we have seen troubles in the lead up to a major event,” Australian sports minister Kate Ellis was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“And of course there is a lot of speculation about these things.” Australia will send a team of 425 athletes and 175 officials to New Delhi, where security is the government’s prime worry.
“Our number one concern is the security and safety of our athletes and officials,” Ellis said. “So what we are concentrating on doing is working very hard to make sure that we’re gathering the best information about what is happening on the ground.”
“And that we are providing all of the sports with that information so that they can make the best decisions for their sport and for those individual athletes as well,” Ellis said.