Athletes pull out as India faces 'national shame'

NEW DELHI — The Commonwealth Games plunged deeper into crisis Wednesday with England warning the event was on a "knife edge" over complaints of filthy housing and worsening structural and security concerns.Officials said Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell was flying in for a meeting Thursday with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the problems overwhelming the October 3-14 event.The latest high-profile withdrawals include the English Olympic 400m gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu and world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu, with Australia warning more of its competitors might follow.Their decisions come after complaints by some teams about the state of the athletes' village, safety fears due to the collapse of a footbridge near one of the venues and question marks over security after a gun attack on tourists."I think we're at an absolutely vital time (regarding) whether the major teams go," warned Commonwealth Games England chairman Andrew Foster, who said the next 24-48 hours would be critical."It's a situation that hangs on a knife-edge," Foster said, with athletes due to begin arriving this week for an event that was meant to showcase the modern India.Adding to the organisers' woes, a section of false ceiling fell down on Wednesday at the weightlifting venue, although there were no injuries, the government said.Scotland -- the next hosts of the games in 2014 -- announced it was delaying the departure of its athletes by a few days, while Channel Island teams Jersey and Guernsey made direct threats to pull out if conditions did not improve.England's Idowu wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter Tuesday: "Sorry people, but I have children to think about. My safety is more important to them than a medal."Indian media on Wednesday described the complaints about "filthy" and "uninhabitable" conditions at the showpiece athlete's village as a national embarrassment, calling for those responsible to be held accountable."India has been shamed globally," the Times of India said in a front-p

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