Singapore: Singapore's swimming coach Ang Peng Siong apologised to his devastated team after failing to register them on time, resulting in their disqualification from the Commonwealth Games 4x200m freestyle relay.
The swimmers had qualified for the final but Ang cut it too fine to get the team list in and was left the bearer of bad news.
"I did what I could to get there on time. I can't control the traffic. If you want to point fingers, then so be it," Ang told the Straits Times.
The daily newspaper reported that Ang had left the village at 2.45pm local time in Delhi to submit the swimmers' entry by 3pm.
"There's usually some grace period," the paper quoted Ang as countering, when asked why he had left so late.
"And I wanted to hand it in as late as possible in case of injuries so I could make changes to the line-up.
"I wanted to be with the swimmers for as long as possible and make sure they were prepared before their race," he said.
Unsuccessful appeal
Traffic delays in the centre of Delhi meant he arrived at 3.45pm. An appeal proved unsuccessful and the newspaper reported that Ang apologised to the swimmers' parents who were in India to support their sons.
"We will learn from this," Singapore's chef de mission Annabel Pennefather said, adding that she would be requesting a report from the Singapore Swimming Association.
