England to wait till Sept, says official

Security issues at the time will have a say

A day after media reports claimed that England will pull out of October 3-14 Games, Hunter said any decision to travel to India will have to be made only near the event.
“I would suggest we’ll be making a judgment as to whether it’s appropriate to compete probably at the beginning of September, certainly not in December,” Hunter said.
The England Commonwealth Games official said it will all boil down to input which will be provided by the security advisors close to the sporting extravaganza.

“An awful lot of things happen in nine months. We will take the intelligence that’s given and we will be in discussions at the highest level with the appropriate authorities. If they were to say to us in their opinion it was inappropriate for us to compete, then we would have to take that very, very seriously and make that judgment call,” he was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

Meanwhile, the performance director of the England Hockey team David Faulkner, said they reserved the right to withdraw at any time but does not believe that would happen.
“That is an option if we feel the safety of our athletes is seriously compromised, but that is not a point we have reached or, to be honest, expect to reach,” said Faulkner.

Faulkner, who was in India recently to have a close look at the security arrangements for the New Delhi Hockey World Cup, was positive about the efforts being made. He also said the staging of the 12-team tournament would also influence the decision-making.

“It is way too early to make a decision for the Commonwealth Games and as for the World Hockey Cup, it is all systems go. The World Cup will be a big dress rehearsal. I was out in New Delhi in October with Met Police officers to see everything on the ground and to meet with Indian security forces and our High Commission.

“We saw nothing then to suggest that England Hockey or the England Commonwealth Games squad in general should withdraw. Australia’s cricketers have recently been through without any problems,” he said.