Officials hoped that hosting the final of the archery at India's national monument, which commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army, would provide television viewers around the world with a stunning backdrop, helping elevate the status of the Games.

The event has now been moved to the Yamuna Sports Complex (YSC), which was already due to host the preliminary rounds, after organisers were quoted $10 million (£6.3 million) for the construction of facilities at India Gate.

Delhi organisers had budgetted $100,000 (£156,887).

Indian security officials were also concerned that the venue could be a magnet for terrorists targetting the Games, which are due to open on October 3.

Lalit Bhanot, the general secretary of the Delhi Organising Committee, said: "We were refused security clearance as the proposed site was near the National Stadium.

"[Security would be a problem] due to the VIP movement in the area.

"So the venue has been shifted."

Mike Hooper, the chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation, confirmed the change.

He said: "Both the CGF and the FITA [the archery world governing body] reluctantly agreed to the change of venue because when it comes to security, there isn’t much left to debate."

But the FITA have bitterly criticised Indian officials over the decision.

Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the Organising Committee, wrote to President Dr Ugur Erdener to inform him about the venue change.

Dr Erdener wrote: "We have a hard time to understand why security is now an issue since the option of India Gate was preferred for reasons of security and the impact on traffic over the option of the Red Fort.

"We also do not understand why this is an issue with archery and not for cycling and marathon which as far as we know will be close to India Gate as well.

"Such courses are much more of a security risk than archery which would be in a confined environment which can be secured much easier.

"Furthermore, it is not clear what specific security risk exist in this area, since as far as we know this part of the city is considered very safe.

"However, since we are close...to the start of the Games and there is no point in starting a long discussion on security or other matters, we need to be pragmatic and try to all cooperate to make the best of the event."

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