The first of England's Commonwealth Games athletes flew out of Heathrow Airport this evening.
Members of the men's hockey and lawn bowls team boarded the Air India flight to Delhi as an announcement over Heathrow's Terminal 3 public address wished the athletes well.
The lawn bowls team will trying to beat defending champs South Africa. Team member Natalie Melmore, 21, from Newton Abbot said: "We're optimistic and excited about participating in the Commonwealth Games. It's something we've been working towards for years and we're looking forward to competing. Delhi is an amazing place and I'm sure everything will be ready by the time we get there. I'm really pleased to by flying out of Heathrow, it's the country's main airport. The service here is always great, there's a good selection of cafes, in fact we've just had a great meal in Terminal 3's Three Bells!"
Meanwhile, the men's hockey team are attempting to improve on their fourth place from Melbourne in 2006. In November, team member Ashley Jackson was announced as the World Young Player of the Year 2009, an accolade voted for by his fellow international hockey players and coaches. Ashley played for England Hockey at the Hero Honda FIH World Cup in Delhi and is looking forward to returning for the Commonwealth Games.
The England team will also be looking to bring home numerous golds in athletics following their successful European Championships earlier this summer.
Heathrow is the only UK airport with direct flights to Delhi and Melbourne, amongst 180 different destinations in 90 countries.
Passengers can fly to eight different Indian destinations (Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai) on five different airlines.
For filming requests for departing sports stars, celebrities or politicians, please contact the Heathrow press office on 020 8745 7224. We kindly request you denote Heathrow as the location.
