Problems could harm India’s Olympic hopes

India’s hopes of one day hosting the Olympic Games will suffer unless it overcomes organisational problems affecting the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, Australian Olympic chief John Coates said.

The October 3-14 event involving 71 nations is already the costliest Commonwealth Games in history, with an infrastructure and organising budget of two billion dollars, which unofficial estimates say will be at least tripled.

The soaring costs and highly publicised delays have led to severe criticism of the organisers, and Coates – a member of the International Olympic Committee executive board – said the fallout would damage India’s reputation for hosting major sports events.

“In the Olympic world we would certainly prefer that venues are all finished one year before, that you’re able to have test events,” the Australian Olympic Committee president told reporters.

“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.

“There’s no potential to take the Games away... it had to happen in Athens, it has to happen in Delhi and I’m sure it will,” Coates said.