England pulled out of the badminton world championships in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad yesterday amid concerns about the team’s security.
Badminton England said in a statement that the decision followed “concerns about the English team potentially being a target of attack in the event of a terrorist act.”
The team had already arrived in India for the championships, due to start today, but would be returning home immediately.
“The decision follows media reports of a specific Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist threat against the championships,” the statement said. “Following those reports, Badminton England felt the risk to the safety of the team was one they could not take.”
Security for sports teams in the sub-continent has been in question following the ambush of the Sri Lanka cricket team bus in Lahore, Pakistan, in March that killed seven Pakistanis and wounded six players.
That incident triggered concerns athletes could become a target for more attacks in the region and India remains nervous after militants killed 166 people in an attack on Mumbai last November.
‘TOUGH DECISION’
“This was an incredibly tough decision and one we didn’t take lightly,” Adrian Christy, chief executive, said in the statement on Badminton England’s Web site. “After the Olympic Games, this is the most prestigious championships in the world but we were not prepared to risk the safety of our players, coaches and staff in what we felt could have been a very volatile environment.”
Christy said the federation had also taken advice from the British Foreign Office and High Commission in India.
“We have been in constant dialogue with them over the past couple of days,” he said. “The conclusion is that safety is of paramount importance and therefore, with great regret, the team will be returning home immediately.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but