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Commonwealth Games chief Mike Fennell has hailed Delhi for overcoming a difficult start to put on a successful event.

The mantle was officially passed to Glasgow 2014 at the closing ceremony on Thursday (October 14).

And Fennell said: "Delhi has performed. The competition has gone well, the venues were of a high standard and the athletes are happy.

"We had to deal with a number of issues but the end result has been good."

Fennell admitted that the decision to award the Games to Delhi had been questioned in many quarters as preparations fell behind schedule and concerns were raised over security.

There were serious problems with the athletes' village and certain venues, while other setbacks included a collapsed pedestrian footbridge, ticketing confusion, poor crowds and big-name withdrawals.

But Fennell maintained that Delhi deserved the chance to stage its first multi-sport event since the 1982 Asian Games and insisted it had proved a worthy host.

"Before the Games people were asking me 'why are you going to India? Why are you going to Delhi? When are you going to cancel the Games?'," he added.

"But we felt it was our job to fix what was wrong – not give up. A year out from the Games people asked 'what is your Plan B?' I said 'our Plan B is Delhi'.

"I don't blame the media for exposing what had to be exposed. It was important to expose some of the fundamental problems and that helped. It helped us to get action going in some areas.

"People have seen an extremely positive image of the Games through television, right across the world."

Delhi 2010 organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi was jeered at the start of his closing speech, but remained upbeat in his assessment of the Games.

"For the athletes it has been a life-changing experience. For India it has been a new beginning in sports," he told a capacity crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

"For the world it has been evidence of what India can do on the sporting stage. This is a new era for Indian sport. All this has made what has turned out to be the largest, the most watched and the most enjoyable Games ever.

"A month ago, questions were being asked whether the Games would be held at all. We drew inspiration from [India's first prime minister Jawaharlal] Nehru: 'Success does not come suddenly or without setbacks'."

Kalmadi, who called the experience an "amazing journey in the face of series of roadblocks", added: "We remained committed to our task. We have learnt a lot and continue to learn.

"The Games displayed India's ability to stand up and show the world what we can achieve, despite being faced with adversity. This is not the end. In fact, this is just the beginning."