New Delhi: Indian archers fear losing their home advantage at the 2010 Commonwealth Games after next month's Asian grand prix was moved out of New Delhi due to venue delays.
The archery competition will now be held in the eastern city of Kolkata from Sept. 16 to 19, a newspaper reported.
Indian archery officials, however, are worried their team would now lose the opportunity to familiarise themselves with wind conditions and other environmental factors in the Delhi venue that will be used for the Games next year.
"How do you expect our sportspersons to do well when some of the venues would be handed to us a month or two before the games?" Archery Association of India (AAI) president Vijay Kumar Malhotra told the newspaper.
The shifting of the competition follows other international events, such as the world badminton championships starting in Hyderabad on Monday, which were moved from the Indian capital due to the slow construction of venues.
Officials, however, have said they are now confident of completing work on the venues ahead of the Commonwealth Games, scheduled from Oct 3-14, 2010.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, August 07, 2009, 12:13