Sachin Tendulkar, one of the world’s most famous sportsmen, pulled out of the Olympic torch relay yesterday on the eve of its procession through Delhi in one of the biggest blows yet to China’s build-up to the Beijing Games.

India’s top cricket star confirmed his decision as 15,000 security personnel prepared to shut down the city centre to prevent Tibetan exiles from disrupting the parade.

The torch was due to arrive in Delhi from Pakistan in the early hours of this morning for what is seen as the most sensitive leg of its global journey. India is home to around 120,000 Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama.

Indian officials had hoped that the torch relay would help to cement a new relationship with China after a chill that began with the Dalai Lama’s flight to India in 1959 and deepened with a brief border war in 1962.

They fear that excessive security, protests by Tibetan exiles, and withdrawals by high-profile torch-bearers risk turning the Delhi leg into another public relations disaster. “Let’s just get it over and done with,” one senior participant told The Times.

Tendulkar said that he withdrew because he did not want to aggravate a groin injury before the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League — a new Twenty20 tournament — tomorrow. “He sent a message that he was not feeling well,” said Suresh Kalmadi, the president of the Indian Olympic Asssociation (IOA).

But his withdrawal will inevitably be seen by many as a gesture of protest against China’s security crackdown in Tibet after anti-Chinese rioting last month. Baichung Bhutia, India’s national football captain, pulled out last month in solidarity with Tibet, and Soha Ali Khan, a Bollywood actress, withdrew yesterday citing “very strong personal reasons”. Kiran Bedi, India’s first woman police officer, is also boycotting the event in protest at “suffocating security”.

Among others who have turned down invitations are Sunil Gavaskar, the former international cricket star, and Rahul Gandhi, the son of Sonia Gandhi, the ruling Congress party leader. Indian authorities are struggling to maintain their democratic principles and assuage public sympathy for Tibet at the same time as addressing Chinese security concerns. They have launched a massive security operation. But such is the secrecy surrounding their plans that yesterday the IOA would not even reveal the time of the relay.

“We have taken only normal security measures,” said Mr Kalmadi, prompting laughter from Indian journalists. The original plan was to take the torch on a six-mile route from the Red Fort, former seat of the Mughal Emperors, to India Gate, an arched war memorial in New Delhi. But it has been cut to a 1.8-mile route along Rajpath, a straight avenue flanked by wide lawns. The only confirmed spectators are the torchbearers and 15,000 security personnel. The Tibetan parliament-in-exile has organised an alternative torch relay in eastern Delhi today and says it expects about 3,000 people to take part.

Cooling flame

— Baichung Bhutia, India’s football captain and a Buddhist, refused to carry the torch through Delhi

— Diego Maradona pulled out of the relay in his native Argentina Wangari Maathai, the Tanzanian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, pulled out citing human rights concerns

— Comedian Francesca Martinez and Richard Vaughan, the UK’s top badminton player, withdrew from the London procession

— UNICEF withdrew in North Korea because it said that taking part would not help it to publicise the plight of children in North Korea

Source: agencies