WELLINGTON: New Zealand tennis player Ellen Barry has pulled out of the troubled Delhi Commonwealth Games citing health and safety concerns, local media reported on Friday.
The 21-year-old had been scheduled to play doubles with Marina Erakovic at the Oct. 3-14 Games, but she said her "gut instinct" had told her to withdraw.
"I was just concerned for my health and safety. I know a lot of athletes will be going, but for me it felt like the right decision," Barry told reporters in Christchurch.
"Up until the day before yesterday I was still weighing it up ... it was very difficult to come to a decision, but I just wanted to go with what my gut feeling was.
"That was, that it's the right thing for me to come home."
Barry becomes the second New Zealand athlete to pull out citing security concerns in the Games' lead-up which has been plagued by infrastructure failures, a dengue fever outbreak and constant fears about athletes' security.
Team Sky cyclist Greg Henderson pulled out last week saying there were "too many risks".
New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie said the two were the only ones from "190-odd (New Zealand) athletes" to pull out over security concerns but conceded more could follow.
"I don't know but I guess there is also the possibility that others, while they are here, might decide they want to go home," Currie said.
"We've had athletes in here for 36 hours and I've had no sense of that yet. But if it was the case and somebody said 'look, Dave, I don't feel safe', then we would facilitate them going home."
TOI
The 21-year-old had been scheduled to play doubles with Marina Erakovic at the Oct. 3-14 Games, but she said her "gut instinct" had told her to withdraw.
"I was just concerned for my health and safety. I know a lot of athletes will be going, but for me it felt like the right decision," Barry told reporters in Christchurch.
"Up until the day before yesterday I was still weighing it up ... it was very difficult to come to a decision, but I just wanted to go with what my gut feeling was.
"That was, that it's the right thing for me to come home."
Barry becomes the second New Zealand athlete to pull out citing security concerns in the Games' lead-up which has been plagued by infrastructure failures, a dengue fever outbreak and constant fears about athletes' security.
Team Sky cyclist Greg Henderson pulled out last week saying there were "too many risks".
New Zealand chef de mission Dave Currie said the two were the only ones from "190-odd (New Zealand) athletes" to pull out over security concerns but conceded more could follow.
"I don't know but I guess there is also the possibility that others, while they are here, might decide they want to go home," Currie said.
"We've had athletes in here for 36 hours and I've had no sense of that yet. But if it was the case and somebody said 'look, Dave, I don't feel safe', then we would facilitate them going home."
TOI
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