WE GO AGAIN
KEVIN MCCALLUM: Terror attacks have put the fear factor into all sport codes
‘Terrorism has loomed over every sporting event I have covered. Since 9/11 nothing has been certain or safe’
In September 2010, I called a friend in the security industry to ask if I would be safe when in New Delhi for the Commonwealth Games a month hence. On September 19, two Taiwanese tourists had been injured in a drive-by shooting in Delhi outside the Jama Masjid, the city’s main mosque. That same day, a car bomb went off in the same area. Several Commonwealth countries issued travel warnings. SA did not, so I went to someone who would know. He replied with a detailed report. There was a sense the city was ripe for an attack. All big cities are during major events and while the Commonwealth Games is apparently not big enough for the sports ministry to take too seriously, the 72 countries represented had people who would be watching them. I should go, said my friend, but, "Be aware. Be careful." The Indian government pooh-poohed suggestions they had left some places vulnerable because they had put so many security personnel at the Games venues. I was still worried. When I landed in Delh...
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