By Bharat Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : Septuagenarian Scottish lawn bowls competitor Willie Wood has won four Commonwealth Games medals so far, the first one 40 years ago at Edinburgh. But even today, the three-time world champion retains the hunger to win laurels on the bowling green.
The Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games here will see 72-year-old Wood’s eighth appearance in the quadrennial event, making him one of the most capped players in the history of the Games. He has won gold twice.
Wood has stayed in Games Villages across the world. He arrived at the Delhi Village Sunday and said it is the best he has seen in his four-decade career.
“I was here for a test event in April. The Village was then in bad shape. I can’t believe what they have done in four months’ time. It has everything that you can hope for. With every Games, there are standards set for the next hosts and Delhi has just done that,” Wood told IANS.
The Scottish veteran is also a three-time lawn bowls world champion and his achievements in the sport earned him the coveted Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1992 from Queen Elizabeth II.
Wood is particularly impressed with the security and the variety of food on offer for the athletes.
“I was never worried about coming to Delhi despite the constant negative publicity but I am overwhelmed by the volume of security personnel here. The security I must say is fool-proof.”
On food, he said: “I tried the African grilled chicken in the afternoon, it was delicious. There are so many dishes to choose from. But I did not try the Indian curries. It is just too spicy for me.”
Wood’s only concern in Delhi is the weather. Because of his age, the Scott fears the humid conditions might affect his performance.
“The weather is pretty challenging here. It is in contrast to what we have back home. We normally practice in the open field for eight to nine hours daily. I hope it does not end up impacting my performance,” he said.
(Bharat Sharma can be contacted at [email protected])