The evening’s athletics is under way in oppressive heat in the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.

The track, partially re-laid in the wake of the destructive forces brought to bear upon it during the Opening Ceremony, has the blotchy look of an unfortunate skin condition.

Sprint races have been starting from lane two, leaving the much abused inside lane alone.

The turfed infield, unfurled, literally, less than 24 hours before events got under way, makes even Wembley look very, very good in comparison.

The stadium is fuller than it was in last night’s opening session, when about one hundredth of the 60,000 capacity was required.

Almost every one of those first nighters had departed by the time the medal ceremony for the 5,000m was held after the kind of race that gives the Commonwealth Games a good name.

When Kenya’s former world champion Eliud Kipchoge and Uganda’s Moses Kipsiro ran shoulder to shoulder the length of the home straight, the Kenyan becoming increasingly wild-eyed at his inability to break the man whose faced seemed composed in determination.

Kipchoge has run the fastest 5,000m in the world this year – 12min 51.21sec – and Kipsiro has finished fourth in the last Olympics and World Championships.

It was an unmistakeable world class offering.

But when both stood proudly at their medal ceremony they did so in an empty stadium.

When his name was announced, Kipchoge, upon instinct, raised his arms in the air.

There was not a sound in response.

It was the same tonight when the shot putters received their medals.



Earlier today, England’s synchronised swimming duet of Jenna Randall and Olivia Allison took silver despite the fact that the speaker relaying their music underwater failed halfway through their routine.

The English men’s compound archery team, attempting to secure gold against the home nation, had to take their final, crucial shots against a background of high spirited whistling from a group of the youngsters who have been bussed in to fill the stands at numerous venues in the wake of a ticketing policy which has demonstrably failed.

Many such championships have adopted a similar policy to fill embarrassing gaps in the stands.

Why not, if you can’t sell sufficient tickets?

It’s an exciting and inspiring experience for the youngsters, and it does lift the atmosphere, even though there is a history of bussed-in crowds applauding at all the wrong times and moments.

On this occasion it was just high spirits.

But it could have been critical to three men who have devoted years of their life to making sure that such moments go as close to perfectly as possible, and who eventually prevailed to win the gold.

Meanwhile doubts swirl around the steady numbers of athletes succumbing to upset tummies or fevers, with swimmers from numerous countries appearing to be particularly badly affected.

Assurances have been sought, and given, over the quality of the water at the swimming venue.

But if it’s not that, then what is it?

Are swimmers particularly prone to such ailments?

All this week the media have been creating about the results service, which ranged from fitful to non-existent.

Poor dears. Who cares?

But beyond the fulminating journalists are many thousands of followers of this event – some of them friends and relatives of those taking part – who would like to be informed.

These are relatively small mismanagements.

But it was one of so many here at a Games where those on the ground are having to work desperately to make good on the mistakes made over a long period of time by those on high.

As the Organising Committee and Commonwealth Games Federations officials grit their teeth and agree to try and get along for the good of the event, there is a sense of improvement.

But also a sense that these Games could have been so much better with just a little more forethought, a little more organisation, a little more willingness to learn from the mistakes others have made, to accept templates that have been created over many years.

It is too late for that now. What will continue to lift these Games is the friendliness and Delhi’s people, and the eager willingness of the young volunteers who have remained following the reported walkout of almost half of the 22,000 volunteers originally engaged.

In the stadium last night there was one small example of how such efforts can change the atmosphere as a team of these young volunteers literally ran around all night trying to provide the world’s gathered press with hard copy results.

They succeeded.

But the biggest thing in Delhi 2010’s favour is the simple, inexorable forward role of sporting events.

Every new drama creates its own glow.

And especially, the Indian triumphs, in shooting and wrestling, generate national pride of the kind so astonishingly stirred by the country’s cricketers earlier in the week.

This is what was envisaged when Delhi bid for these Games.

This is where the pay-off comes.

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the last five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames and will be providing regular reports from the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. These will be his sixth Commonwealth Games, having covered his first at Edinburgh in 1986.