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New Delhi, Oct. 7: After the “rousing” start on the ground, some vigorous action off it.
Drains at the Commonwealth Games Village are choked with used condoms, a Delhi tabloid has said, throwing up plumbing problems that might have otherwise been blamed on the rushed and shoddy construction.
But only four days into the tournament, the blocked drains appear to suggest that hormones are flowing freely. The Village is home to over 7,000 athletes, all young and fit, from 71 countries for the October 3-14 event.
Another telltale evidence of the private games under way: a condom-vending machine that can hold 4,000 pieces is reportedly “half empty”. Quick refills may be needed as many sporting events get over and players take their eyes and minds off the field.
Organising committee officials denied drains had been choked because of condoms, but Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell saw in it a virtue worth emphasising. “It shows there is use of condoms and I think it is a very positive story that athletes are being responsible. The issue was controversial some years back but not now. Promoting safe sex is a responsible thing to do,” he said.
Organising committees have distributed condoms since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. Around a lakh condoms were supplied for use by athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But in Delhi, officials would not accept the Games Village’s pipes were groaning under the weight of condoms, though they did appear to suggest that there could be “isolated” cases of libido spilling over into toilets. “There may have been isolated incidents of athletes having thrown these in the toilets, leading to choking. But we have not received complaints of any large-scale clogging of drains,” said one official.
The Sydney Morning Herald asked the chef de mission of the Australian contingent, Steve Moneghetti, whether the team had a policy on sex while at the Games.
Moneghetti dodged the policy poser but brought the focus back to its starting point by revealing that their share of condoms was being kept in an abandoned toilet bowl in the team’s medical quarters.
“We have a supply of condoms in the medical quarter as you come in. In fact, they showed great initiative because there was an abandoned toilet that was just there in the construction period, and the medical department thought what a great, respectable place to keep the condoms in,” the report quoted Moneghetti as saying.
Tomorrow, the drains may get choked further as the “famously frisky swimmers” finish their competition and look to go with the tide in other areas.