Delhi’s Commonwealth Games were declared an unmitigated disaster even before they started, meaning there is much ground to recover throughout the next two weeks in Glasgow.

The revered place the Games hold in the Australian community has waned since Melbourne hosted the event in 2006. While our sportspeople have largely dominated the medal tallies, the gulf between being a Commonwealth Games champion and a world – or Olympic – champion seems wider than it has in the past.

It’s harder to gauge just what a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games means on the broader world stage.

It doesn’t necessarily mean there’s less interest in the performances of our athletes, but there is less excitement at the end result. Being in a time zone which largely suits night owls won’t help ingratiate the community to the Games.

From a Ballarat point of view, this year’s Games are significant on two levels. Marathon icon Steve Moneghetti is in place as Australia’s chef de mission, a fitting responsibility for a well-respected and eminently qualified past competitor.

Moneghetti’s role is not just for show, if previous Games are anything to be judged by; there will be controversies which require action.

World eyes will be closely watching the Australian team disciplines outside the sporting fields.

From a competition point of view, Ballarat’s current and past representatives do not stand out as gold medal chances.

However, as we know from past experience, the Commonwealth Games is often the making of much bigger and brighter futures.

We wish all our Games competitors the very best as the prepare to take centre stage. We hope and wish Glasgow shakes off the difficulties from recent past Commonwealth Games to establish how a smooth operation can add to the sporting theatre.

And we implore Australians at home to get behind our Ballarat competitors and the Australian team.

We do, after all, love a winner.