Australian athlete sent home for bad behaviour during Commonwealth Games

NEW DELHI - Australian Commonwealth Games Association chief Perry Crosswhite said on Friday that an athlete had been sent home from Delhi for disciplinary reasons and admitted that a washing machine was dropped from a balcony in Australia’s section of the Games village.

Australian athletes unable to bear their cricket team’s 2-0 loss to India went berserk destroying electrical fittings and furniture in their tower in the Commonwealth Games Village on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Local media quoted police sources as saying that the athletes shouted slogans against Sachin Tendulkar and flung a washing machine down from the eighth floor of their tower. The incident proves that the Australians are sore losers and their behaviour is not sporting.

“The housekeeping staff tried to stop them but to no avail,” said a senior police officer handling security inside the Games Village.

Crosswhite said that Delhi police was investigating a separate incident at the athletes’ village involving a washing machine being thrown out of a multi-storey apartment.

Asked to explain the incident, Crosswhite said there was an issue involving a washing machine. “A washing machine was pushed off a level and went to the ground - a few storeys up,” ABC Grandsport quoted him, as saying.

“I have my doubts that we did it; there were reports of other athletes from other countries in our residence at the time,” he said.

Crosswhite refused to reveal the name of the athlete sent home or the nature of their bad behaviour.

“I’m not going to tell you (who it was). It was a matter between our team and ourselves,” he told reporters at the Indira Gandhi International Airport before the departure of the remaining Australian contingent back home.

He said the athlete was sent home “a few days ago”.

Around 300 athletes will depart Delhi on a chartered Qantas flight later today. (ANI)