Around 5,000 athletes will be competing in Delhi as part of the Commonwealth Games. Sportsmen and women from 71 countries will compete in 17 different sports over the next 11 days to try for gold in Delhi.
The buildup to the games was fraught with drama, issues of hygiene, security and safety concerns, but today the real action begins as the first heats are held. Australia, Canada and Britain are expected to reap the top medals across the board, but some major contenders are absent from the Delhi games.
Injury has kept Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt from the games, as well as South Africa’s 800m champion Caster Semenya. Others have cited the need to rest and recuperate after a grueling season for their absence.
Security was the main reason why a number of athletes chose not to compete in the games, with many from Britain and South Africa not joining teammates in Delhi.
While India has provided over 100,000 police officers to patrol the city during the games, and have very tight security measures in place at the events, some countries, such as Australia have hired private security firms and sent over their own police officers to ensure the safety of their athletes.
Tensions over security still ride under the surface of the event, but games officials in India are hoping that the headlines over the next two weeks are all about sporting achievements, rather than issues of security, or the hygiene and state of sporting facilities and health concerns.
