Delhi Games boycott call by Dawn Fraser rejected
Dawn Fraser has urged Australian athletes to boycott the Games A call by Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser to boycott Delhi's Commonwealth Games over terrorism fears has been rejected.
Ms Fraser told an Australian newspaper her greatest fear was that India was not ready to prevent a repeat of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre.
Australian Commonwealth Games chief Perry Crosswhite said her remarks were ill-informed.
It comes as Games chief Mike Fennell inspects venue preparations in Delhi.
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I would hate to see another Munich but, with things getting worse and worse, I have grave concerns
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Dawn Fraser
Australian swimming legend
In an interview with the Courier-Mail newspaper, Ms Fraser urged Australian athletes to seriously consider boycotting the Delhi Games, being held from 3 to 14 October.
"The Indians are telling us that security will be right," said the swimmer, who won four Olympic gold medals and six Commonwealth Games gold medals in a career that ended in 1964.
"But they've also been telling us for months that their stadiums are ready to go too, and quite obviously they're not.
"I know Australia has never boycotted a Commonwealth or Olympic Games, but we're simply being told too many lies. There are now too many question marks for our officials not to consider it," she was quoted as saying.
"I would hate to see another Munich but, with things getting worse and worse, I have grave concerns," she said.
Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by Palestinian militants at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
'Not a target'
Mr Crosswhite told reporters in Melbourne: "I don't think Dawn's been to Delhi recently and I don't think she has the information we have. If she did I don't think she would have made the comments she did.
"We believe at this stage, it will be safe and it will be secure."
Mr Crosswhite added: "My personal view is that the Commonwealth Games is not going to be a target."
Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell is on a last-minute inspection of venues in Delhi; some of them are still under construction and many do not have the required safety certificates.
He is also attending a briefing with Indian officials on security issues.
Delhi's police chief has said the Games will pass without a hitch.
Meanwhile, it emerged on Thursday that two Indian state-run firms have withdrawn their sponsorship of the Games due to "negative publicity".
The event has been overshadowed by allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
Earlier on Thursday, Sonia Gandhi, the head of India's governing Congress party, said those found guilty of corruption in the Games would be punished.
Mrs Gandhi said the Games were "a matter of national pride" and must be held successfully.
