Hyderabad, August 09: Despite India’s Home Minister personally assuring all the participating teams viz-a-viz adequate safety measures during the forthcoming World Badminton Championships in Pune, England on Sunday announced their decision to pull out of the tourney, scheduled to begin tomorrow.
An organiser of the world championship confirmed England’s withdrawal.
The official, on condition of anonymity, said that a statement would be issued later in the day, detailing the exact reasons behind the withdrawal.
This is not the first time that England sportsperson have pulled out of an event in India over security concerns. As recently as March, two of England’s top badminton players withdrew from the India Open citing similar concerns.
There were reports earlier by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to the state authorities that terror elements would attempt to strike at the international players during the Championship, as they did against Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan recently.
Top-ranked badminton players are scheduled to take part in the high profile World Championships slated to be held at Gatchibowli from August 10 to 16.
As of Friday, over 200 players from all over the world and their support staff had already arrived.
Following the specific threat, security teams had fanned across the entire area.
–Agencies