Delhi 2010 Games to go ahead: Australian chief

Australia's Commonwealth Games chief said Wednesday there was no reason to call off the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games in the wake of an attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in Pakistan.

At least eight people died and seven cricketers were injured when masked gunmen opened fire on the team's buses on the way to Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium Tuesday.

Australian swimming champion Dawn Fraser called for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi to be cancelled to avoid "another Munich" a reference to the murder of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games by Palestinian extremists.

But the country's Commonwealth Games Association chief Perry Crosswhite, who competed at Munich, said the Lahore attack should not prevent the Delhi Games going ahead.

"Like everyone else I am shocked that they attacked a sporting team, and Pakistan cricket is so popular for terrorists to do this is almost unheard of," he told Australian Associated Press. "(But) we are not saying the Games are going to be cancelled.

"At this stage the Games are on at Delhi 2010 and we have no reason to believe that they won't take place."

Crosswhite added that he believed the Commonwealth Games were a low-priority target because most of the countries involved were developing nations.

The Commonwealth Games Federation would hold a teleconference to discuss security issues "very shortly", and Australian officials would visit Delhi in early April, he said.

"We are looking at new steps to put in place to ensure our athletes are protected," Crosswhite said. "I don't think anyone can guarantee anybody's safety any more."

"But what we can say is that we will make an assessment that the potential threats are at an acceptable level (at Delhi)," he added.

He said athletes would be informed, and allowed to make their own decision about attending the games if the threat was deemed to be unacceptable.