Hill offers 3-1 odds that Games won’t start
Today it has been reported that a part of the ceiling in the weightlifting venue in the Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed in yet another embarrassing failure of the infrastructure of the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games. Coming only a day after the bridge
to the same stadium collapsed, injuring 23 people, this only fuels the worries of participating nations and athletes.
"We have to take the scaffold to a certain height and tighten it,” explained a senior maintenance official. “Nobody was injured in the incident."
British bookmaker William Hill had already been offering 5-1 odds that the Commonwealth Games would fail to start on schedule, but with the revelation of the bridge collapse, and now this, Hill has cut the odds to 3-1.
"The race is on to ensure that everything is in order for the opening ceremony although it is seeming likely that the Games could experience delays and the shortening odds reflect this," said Joe Crilly, spokesman for Hill.
By Tuesday, seven nations had already expressed criticism and concern of how the infrastructure was developing. Team Scotland labeled the athlete accommodations as “unsafe and unfit for human habitation," in their release, while Commonwealth Games England
demanded immediate attention to the problems. When learning of the bridge collapse on Tuesday, English athlete Phillips Idowu was the first to officially pull out of the games.
"Sorry people, but I have children to think about,” said Idowu. “My safety is more important to them than a medal.”
Hill is has changed the 1/9 odds that the Games will start on time to 2/9, and is also offering 2/1 odds that one or more team from Great Britain would officially pull out of the Games before the schedule beginning, either England, Scotland, Northern Ireland
or Wales.
"We had been quoting 5/1 that the Games would fail to start on time originally, but there has been a concerted gamble on them failing to do so over the last 48 hours, which has seen the odds cut to 3/1,” said Graham Sharpe, another spokesman for Hill.
Tags: