Olympic gold medalist Australia had "no choice" but to withdraw from December's Champions Trophy tournament in Paki-stan due to security concerns, Hockey Australia officials said yesterday.
Pakistani organizers of the tournament were highly critical late Monday of Australia's decision, prompting a statement by the board of Hockey Australia.
"The advice for all Australians to defer travel to Pakistan leaves us with no choice but to withdraw," the statement said. "Australia has a record of participating in every Champions Trophy tournament since inception, of which we are very proud. This decision has not been taken lightly, but was made with absolute due regard to our responsibilities to Australian team members and the international hockey community."
Australia's withdrawal came after a suicide bombing at a mosque killed four people in the eastern city of Lahore -- where the tournament will be held from Dec. 4-12.
The attack was the third this month against a religious target in eastern Punjab province in violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
But the Pakistan field hockey federation said Australia had overreacted, adding that the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and New Zealand had confirmed their participation after receiving detailed plans for security.
Australia "has pulled out despite the fact that we have given the security assurances of all the participating teams," Musarratullah Khan, secretary of the Pakistani federation, said.
"I am disappointed over Australia's decision and it's not good for the promotion of the game," Khan said.
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