Australia satisfied with security, will participate in World Cup
By IANSSunday, February 21, 2010
SYDNEY - The Australian hockey team will participate in World Cup in New Delhi after being told there were “no credible threats” to the Feb 28-March 13 tournament and the hosts were taking “robust security measures” to ensure the security of the teams, authorities said.
Hockey Australia (HA) had pondered over the issue of participating in the World Cup following a warning by Al Qaeda’s Pakistan arm threatening attacks in India, particularly upcoming international sports events like the Commonwealth Games, the Hockey World Cup and the IPL cricket tournament.
“The information from all sources is consistent. The advice states that there is a strong commitment and tangible evidence of the authorities’ ability to implement robust security measures to ensure our team’s safety at all times,” Australian news agency AAP quoted HA as saying in a statement Sunday.
“All threats have been assessed and there are no known credible World Cup threats at this time.”
It stated: “The Kookaburras (as the Australian hockey team is known) will continue with their plans to participate in the 2010 World Cup.”
The Kookaburras had pulled out of the 2004 Champions Trophy in Pakistan after HA cited security fears.
