Hockey Australia (HA) said Thursday there was no change in their plans to play in this month's Hockey World Cup, despite calls from team family members to boycott the event over terrorism fears. The organisation said it had been advised by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that there has been no change to the threat environment in India.
HA said it would continue to follow security protocols in relation to the players' safety in India, but "at this stage there is no change in our plans to participate in the 2010 Hockey World Cup". "In line with Hockey Australia's process of assessing emerging threats and changing conditions, should the current situation change we would obviously reassess our position," HA chief executive Mark Anderson said in a statement.
New security fears surfaced after a bombing Saturday at a restaurant in the western Indian city of Pune, which killed 11 people. The Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online news website added to concerns when it said this week it had received a warning from an al Qaeda-linked militant group about attacking sports events in India.
Parents of Australian squad member Kieran Govers said they had cancelled their plans to watch their son play in the Hockey World Cup in New Delhi from February 28 to March 13. Paul Kelly, from Sportslink International, the company responsible for booking most of the supporters' arrangements, said there had been late cancellations from Australians who had wanted to go to the Hockey World Cup. Anderson said Hockey Australia would not send their players into an unsafe environment. "We would not force anyone on the team to go... (but) there's been no expression of anyone wanting to pull out at any stage," he told reporters.