Heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis pulls out of CWG
England's world heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis and 800m world championship bronze-medallist Jenny Meadows have joined the growing list of star athletes pulling out from the the controversy-ridden Delhi Commonwealth Games.
As England gears up to name its CWG athletics team on Wednesday, stars continue to opt out of the Games to nurse injuries and avoid exhaustion.
Ennis is the women's world and European heptathlon champion. She has not specified the reasons for her decision to pull out of the Delhi event, the build-up to which has been marred by corruption allegations and construction delays.
Ennis won the heptathlon gold in Berlin world championships last year and added another in the European championships in Barcelona early this month.
She also won a pentathlon gold in the world indoor championships in Doha in March this year. Also to her credit is a heptathlon bronze in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Meadows, who has opted out to rest the Achilles injury which hampered her this season, is a 2009 World Championships bronze medallist in women's 800m.
She also won a 800m bronze in the European Championships this year and was a silver medallist in this year's World Indoor Championships in Doha.
But England's selectors are still confident of naming a strong squad for the event.
World and European triple jump champion Phillips Idowu and Olympic 400 metres gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu are among those who are keen to travel to Delhi and defend their Commonwealth crowns.
Double European champion Mo Farah, along with European 110m hurdles gold medallist Andy Turner, and 100m World Championship silver medallist Mark Lewis-Francis are also in line for selection in the squad.
Dobriskey in doubt
England's star middle distance runner Lisa Dobriskey says she is keen to defend her 1500m Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi but an injury-hit season has left her in two minds.
The 26-year-old, who is also a silver medallist from last year's World Championships, did not have a very good European Championship campaign failing to win a medal.
Dobriskey said she is weighing her options ahead of the Commonwealth Games as she does not want to stretch herself too much.
"I'm quite positive about it. I'd like to do it. The only downside is that it makes the season so long. That delays the winter preparation and then you're stepping into next year a little bit," Dobriskey was quoted as saying by media here.
"But I think it can be done. We just need to go through all the pros and cons and really sit down and look to see how the training will fit in and how I'll respond just coming off a championship," she added.
Dobriskey said winning the gold in the Melbourne edition of the Games is the highlight of her career.
"As a championship I just loved every minute of it."
