Delhi 2010 to become largest CWG in history?

New Delhi : Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi on Friday announced that around 7000 athletes and team officials from 71 nations and territories will make next month?s Games the biggest in the history of the Commonwealth Games.

There were approximately 5,800 athletes and team officials in attendance in Melbourne.

?We are delighted to announce that Delhi 2010 is set to become the largest ever Commonwealth Games and are confident that it will be conducted smoothly,? said Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Secretary-General Lalit K. Bhanot. ?This number is likely to go up as the Commonwealth Games Federation has a policy for accepting late entries and there are many requests.?

?More importantly, there are many World, Olympic, Commonwealth Games and continental champions among the participants,? he said. ?We are sure that the paying spectators and the TV audiences across the world will enjoy watching these athletes perform in the world class facilities created here.

?Of course, we are confident that the athletes in 17 disciplines and four Para Sport events (150 athletes) will like the facilities here and deliver very good performances. They will also enjoy living in the Games Village, built to accommodate 7200 persons, and find that it the best they have experienced in multi-discipline events,? he said.

India will field the biggest contingent of more than 600 athletes and team officials while Bostwana will be the smallest with less than five athletes and officials.

Many nations are sending their largest contingents to a Commonwealth Games outside their home nations.

These include

? Australia (550)

? England (525)

? Canada (400)

? New Zealand (325)

? Malaysia (325)

? Scotland (300)

? Wales (240)

With a 220-strong contingent, South Africa will be biggest team from Africa.

India?s neighbours Pakistan and Sri Lanka will send contingents of around 125 each. Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales will keep their record as the only nations to participate in all editions of the Commonwealth Games when they compete in Delhi 2010.

The exact number of athletes will be known only when the Delegation Registration Meetings (DRM) are held between September 16 and October 2, 2010. Until this process is complete, the Organising Committee is not allowed by the Commonwealth Games Federation to reveal the names of the individual athletes.

Table showing participation in recent Commonwealth Games

Year Venue No. of sports Athletes &

officials

1978 Edmonton 10 1978

1982 Brisbane 10 2154

1986 Edinburgh 10 2123

1990 Auckland 14 2826

1994 Victoria 10 3671

1998 Kuala Lumpur 15 5065

2002 Manchester 17 3679

2006 Melbourne 16 5766