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The troubled build-up to the Commonwealth Games has continued with the withdrawal of two world champions and the collapse of a pedestrian bridge outside the main stadium.
Less than two weeks out from the start of the Games in New Delhi, the event took another hit on Tuesday when Australian discus champion Dani Samuels was one of two athletes to withdraw due to security and health concerns.
England’s triple jump world champion Phillips Idowu also announced he would not compete, declaring his safety was more important to his family than a medal.
The withdrawals came two days after two Taiwanese tourists were injured in a shooting at the Jama Masjid mosque.
There has also been an outbreak of dengue fever in the Indian capital.
Samuels, 22, became the first Australian to pull out of the event because of concerns over security and health.
Her manager Hayden Knowles said she was “extremely distressed” about the situation in Delhi but her withdrawal was met with support from Australian Commonwealth Games chief executive Perry Crosswhite.
“It is a very personal decision and one which athletes must make in consultation with their family and individual support teams, and we accept and respect Dani’s decision,” Crosswhite said in a statement.
Amid ongoing concerns about the substandard state of the athletes village, organisers suffered further embarrassment on Tuesday when a foot bridge outside the main venue, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, collapsed, injuring 23 labourers on Tuesday afternoon local time.
The 50 metre high foot bridge collapsed onto the car park tarmac below, with the steel supporting arch still standing.
Indian media reported 23 labourers were injured, five seriously.
“There is no need to panic and the pictures on TV make it look much worse than it is,” Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said.
Officials also moved to downplay concerns about the state of the village, after officials from five nations, including Australia and New Zealand, voiced strong complaints about hygiene and cleanliness standards.
“Everyone has different standards about cleanliness. The Westerners have different standards, we have different standards,” organising committee secretary-general Lalit Bhanot told a packed media conference.
He said, however, that the workers had been instructed to deliver “the quality of hygiene needed at the village to make our guests happy”.
Also of concern to organisers is the fact another week of rain is expected to further hinder late preparations while rivers rise to danger levels in the host city.
The protracted monsoon season has resulted in flood levels not seen in 32 years for the Yamuna River, which flows within a few kilometres of the athletes village.
Samuels and Idowu’s withdrawals were preceded by news England’s Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu and defending 1,500m champion Lisa Dobriskey would not compete because of injury.
The Games have already been robbed of significant star power with the likes of Jamaican sprint stars Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell declining to compete.