India unveils first Commonwealth Games venue

India threw open its first Commonwealth Games stadium over the weekend with a promise to deliver the rest of the venues in time for the October event in New Delhi.

"I am confident everything will be in place in time," sports minister Manohar Singh Gill said after inaugurating the refurbished Dhyan Chand National Hockey Stadium on Sunday.

The stadium, named after an Indian field hockey legend, was used for the 1951 and 1982 Asian Games and will play host to the 12-nation men's World Cup from February 28 to March 13.

The 20,000-seater complex in central Delhi has four floodlight towers, two synthetic match pitches and one practice pitch, and will be used for the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games.

"A beginning has been made and you will now see the 10 remaining competition venues being completed one after another," Gill told reporters.

"Yes, we could have finished the work a year in advance to get the facilities tested, but at least we can ensure that the venues will come up well before the Games start."

The Commonwealth Games Federation has repeatedly expressed concern about the slow pace of work for the Games, which will involve 6,000 athletes drawn from the former British Empire competing in 17 sports.

Federation president Mike Fennell said in December he was distressed by a report by the CGF evaluation commission that two major venues would not be ready until June, barely three months before the opening ceremony.

The commission said that work on the Nehru stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics programme will be held, and the swimming complex, was way behind schedule.