India's bid for Olympics depends on CWG

Seemingly unimpressed by tardy preparations for the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, Australia's Olympic chief John Coates today said India will have to prepare in a better way if it aspires to host Olympic Games in future.

Coates said the Games are being viewed as a step towards securing subcontinent's first Olympic event but infrastructure problems and continuing security problems could damage India's possible bid.

“In the Olympic world we would certainly prefer that venues are all finished one year before, that you're able to have test events to test the venues, to test the organisation.

“We did have some similar experiences with Athens (Olympics in 2004) and I'm sure the Games will happen, but certainly I wouldn't like to be involved in something with construction happening so close to the event,” Coates was quoted as saying by the AAP.

Delay in the completion of the venues and corruption scandals have marred the build-up to the October 3-14 mega-event.

Three members of the Games Organising Committee have already been either sacked or suspended in the wake of alleged corruption during the launch the Queen's Baton Relay in London last year.

“In many ways you're in the hands of organising committees. You're in the hands of governments, you get to a stage where you have to trust them, you have to back them,” he said. — PTI