58-member Pak team for CWGIslamabad: A 58-members team from Pakistan will leave for New Delhi on Wednesday to take part in the Commonwealth Games and PSB Director General Syed Amir Hamza Gillani hoped the athletes will better their performance in the October 3-14 mega-event. Pakistan had expressed their disatisfaction over the arrangements at the Games village with its High Commissioner Shahid Malik saying a lot still needs to be done. But Coordinator of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) retired Major Muhammad Afzal said the team is all set to participate in the Games. We are not going to pull out from the event and our delegations will go as planned, Muhammad Afzal said today. We have already booked seats for our contingents,which will be travelling in batches, he added. Pakistan will compete in eight disciplines and their hockey,squash,tennis,weightlifting,wrestling and boxing teams will depart on Wednesday (Sept 29),while three athletes and an eight-member shooting team will leave on October 2. So we have given the organizers time till our contingents reach there. They have assured that our grievances would be removed, he said. Gillani hoped the Pakistani team will produce some sterling performance in the mega event. We hope a good show from our athletes and are confident that they will keep the countrys flag high, he said during an interaction with the athletes. Pakistan bagged one gold,three silvers and a bronze medal in the Melbourne Games four years ago. Not scared of bombs: Aussie swimmerMelbourne: For 15-year-old Australian swimming sensation Yolane Kukla,the sound of bomb blasts is not something that scares her. The Brisbane schoolgirl knows what it means to be live in a dangerous part of the world. So,heading to New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games surrounded by a world-class security outfit carries no concern for the teenager. Kukla will land in Delhi with the rest of the Australian swimming contingent on Wednesday night. Kukla said media dialogue about the Games issues had been annoying with all that hype about terrorists,but for her family there was never any doubt she would compete and they would attend. We used to live in Manila where lots of bombs were going off and that sort of stuff, Kukla told an Australian newspaper. We were in a village so we were pretty secure,but it was pretty close. Dad used to travel to India quite a bit. He has stopped that now because he has changed jobs,but he has got friends over there. Mum,Dad and my sister are going to Delhi. Im looking forward to seeing them when I get there. Theyre not scared and Im not scared either. Kuklas only concern has been to shake off a rib injury while preparing for a six-event campaign in Delhi. She will enter the Games as the top-ranked swimmer in the 50m butterfly and will compete in four individual and two relays. Bahaman chief criticises Games criticsNew Delhi: In what would be music to the ears of the embattled CWG organisers,Bahamas chef-de-Mission on Tuesday lashed out at countries which criticised the CWG facilities,saying that cooperation was important for the spirit of the Games instead of pointing fingers. Bahamas Chef-de-Mission Roy Adrian Colebrook took the opportunity of his countrys flag hoisting ceremony at the Games Village to say that the Commonwealth countries should work together for the success of any Games held anywhere. I dont know what is for other countries but the spirit of the Games is supposed to be harmonious friendship environment. There should be collective effort so that Games held anywhere should be the best Games, Colebrook said. When a country hosts an event it puts in everything into the Games. There should be no finger pointing. It is upto the experienced nations to give support to all nations who are hosting the event and ensure success of the event, he added. Colebrook made his commitment to the Indian organisers of his countrys full support for the successful conduct of the Games. We will give all our support for ensuring the Games to be a success, he said. There are 33 athletes in the 41-member Bahamas contingent. Training venues buzzing with activityNew Delhi: The South African and Norfolk Island archers today began their practice stint at the Yamuna Sports Complex training venue for the competitions that begin on October 4. The first practice sessions for the aquatic competitions,beginning on October 4,started in right earnest,with swimmers from Tanzania making the first splash at the S P Mukherjee Aquatics Centre Training Pool. India,Kenya and Trinidad and Tobago also used the pool while officials from South Africa,Canada and Australia visited the venue.
