Wrestling bouts held up for about two hours for ‘health and safety checks’ at Commonwealth Games venue

The first hold-off was till 12:15 BST (4.45 pm IST). Only a few volunteers were allowed to stay. The official statement at the time attributed the delay to a technical failure and “equipments being rechecked”. The mats were cordoned off.

The delay happened following a match between Singapore’s Danielle Sue Ching Lim and Zainab Barrie of Sierra Leone. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

The wrestling bouts at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham were held up, and spectators, officials and media personnel asked to vacate the Coventry Arena on Friday as officials conducted “health and safety checks”.

Only a few volunteers were allowed to stay back during the first hold-off until 12.15 pm BST (4.45 pm IST). The official statement at the time attributed the delay to a technical failure and “equipments being rechecked”. The mats were cordoned off as well.

UPDATE - 12:30 BST: The officials and broadcast personnel have started to re-enter the arena.#CWG2022https://t.co/MvDPeIHohz

— Santadeep Dey (@SantadeepDey) August 5, 2022

“I don’t know, but one of them told me a speaker fell off the roof,” one of the stewards said.

When trying to access the media stands, the security officials told Sportstar there was a “technical failure”.

Later, the bouts were further postponed until 1.15 pm BST (5.45 pm IST), the delay happening after a match between Singapore’s Danielle Sue Ching Lim and Zainab Barrie of Sierra Leone.

The matches finally resumed at 1.30 pm BST (6.00 pm IST).