Two archers — Kevin Tataryn and Dietmar Trillus — have become the first Canadian athletes to pull out of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, citing health and safety concerns.
Manitoba’s Tataryn and Dietmar withdrew from the international competition yesterday morning due to conditions at Athletes’ village, said Scott Ogilvie, Archery Canada’s executive director.
Ogilvie said their decision was personal and independent and was “unfortunate” since the rest of the 10-member team is still expected to depart on Tuesday.
“I’ll take my safety over a medal any day,” Tataryn, a 25-year-old materials technician with a geotechnical engineering firm, said. “When other athletes are deciding not to go as well, it kind of hit home a bit more that you are not the only one thinking it’s not the best place to be going.”
The archers are the first two Canadians to withdraw from the Games, following the path earlier taken by the likes of triple Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica.
“It seems like it’s all a bunch of little things that they are having problems with, what the people in India make it seem like,” said Tataryn. “But I think it’s quite a bit larger of a problem from what I’m being told by our Commonwealth Games representatives.”
Meanwhile, Canada has decided to review over the next couple of days whether to send its athletes to Delhi for the Games and has instructed some of its sportspersons to delay their departures.
Canadian Broadcaster CBC said Canadian Commonwealth Games officials are monitoring the situation and will decide whether athletes from their country should go to Delhi.
“We have to review that in the next couple of days, and we’re keeping a very close pulse on (questions of) is this safe, is this meaningful, is this going to be an experience we promised our athletes and coaches... and that becomes the 64 million dollar question,” Canadian chef de mission Martha Deacon told CBC News.
The departures of some of the Canadian athletes to New Delhi for the upcoming Commonwealth Games has been delayed by a few days as officials felt the athletes Village “is not yet up to code”.
