By CHRIS LEHOURITES,AP Sports Writer
New Delhi Sept 30 : England's team for the Commonwealth Games will head to New Delhi with plenty of goals to reach, and the biggest among them may be to get ready for the 2012 London Olympics.

They will be have to do it, however, without some of their biggest stars.

Olympic 400-meter champion Christine Ohuruogu and defending 1,500-meter champion Lisa Dobriskey withdrew because of injuries after heptathlete Jessica Ennis and distance runner Mo Farah had already pulled out for scheduling reasons.

World champion Phillips Idowu last week decided against defending his triple jump title at the Commonwealth Games because of fears over his safety.

Preparations for the games have been beset by problems, including the collapse of a pedestrian bridge that was under construction near the main stadium, the shooting of two Taiwanese men near a tourist attraction in Delhi and constant concerns over security.

England delayed travel for the athletes who were due to leave for Delhi last week due to concerns over the unclean state of the athletes village. That has now been rectified.

On Wednesday, team spokeswoman Caroline Searle said more than 200 athletes had already checked into the village.

"We're looking forward very much for the sport starting and the games getting on," Searle said.

England will have more than 360 athletes competing across in 17 sports, more than participated at the last event in Melbourne four years ago.

"We're hoping to see people come through," Commonwealth Games England chairman Andrew Foster said, alluding to both the London Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. "We see this as a major development opportunity."

Ennis, the world heptathlon champion, opted to skip the games because it clashed with her training schedule, while 5,000-10,000 European champion Farah withdrew because he said he needs a break.

"With the competition schedule, there was always that danger," Foster said. "We're clearly disappointed."

Other big names from other countries to bypass the games in India include Jamaican sprinters Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice and Scottish cyclist Chris Hoy.

"There is a sadness that Usain Bolt won't be there. There is a sadness that Chris Hoy won't be there," Foster said. "But you can turn it the other way round and say there's going to be new people there."

Andrew Steele, who finished fourth as part of England's 4x400 relay team at both the Beijing Olympics and the last Commonwealth Games, pulled out because of injury. But he agreed that new stars will shine in New Delhi.

"There will be unexpected performances," Steele said. "When you get the chance to represent your country individually, you really step up."

Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington, who won gold medals in the 400 and 800 freestyle events at the 2008 Beijing Games, will lead the way in the swimming pool.

"This is the medal she wants and she's determined to go there and get it," said Craig Hunter, the England team's Chef de Mission.

The youngest member of the team is 13-year-old Alicia Blagg, a diver who will celebrate her 14th birthday a few days after the games end. The oldest member is Michael Gault, a 56-year-old shooter.

Gault has won 15 medals over four Commonwealth Games and needs four more to become the most decorated athlete in the history of the games. In New Delhi, the Englishman will be entered in eight different events.

"Because of who I am and what I've done, everyone expects something every time I step on to the firing line," Gault said. "That's a huge responsibility and something I've got to control emotionally and physically."

Thousands of heavily armed police are patrolling every venue and enforcing strict security conditions for entry.

England women's field hockey captain Kate Walsh said the level of security was reassuring.

"We don't obviously have that at every games, but it's reassuring," she said Wednesday. "You would absolutely rather have that, than not."

The Commonwealth Games, which bring together teams from the 71 countries and territories in the commonwealth every four years, have been dominated by Australia, England and Canada since the first edition in 1930, when they were called the British Empire Games. Four years ago in Melbourne, the Australians led the medals table with 221 overall, including 84 gold. England was second, followed by Canada in third.

Those same countries will be the teams to beat in New Delhi, with the addition of host India.

"We have to be realistic," Foster said. "There's going to be the biggest ever Indian team there."