Terrorists may target World Badminton tournament: Intelligence input

Badminton team quits after threat

BBC News
2009/08/09 19:56:50 GMT

The England team has withdrawn from the World Badminton Championships in India because of "a specific terrorist threat" made by extremists.

The eight-strong squad pulled out of the tournament, which starts on Monday in Hyderabad, after reports of threats by Muslim extremists Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Badminton England said it was "an incredibly tough decision".

Badminton Scotland said its players will stay, and Welsh Badminton have three players at the tournament.

The England squad arrived home on Sunday night ahead of a news conference by players and officials at the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes on Monday.

Anne Smillie, chief executive of Badminton Scotland, said that Badminton England had "perhaps overreacted".

She said: "I don't necessarily think they've made the right decision.

"Certainly our Scottish players and our team manager who are in Hyderabad feel confident that the security is at its best. They have been well looked after and they have no intention of coming home."

Volatile environment

Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy said: "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."

He said the team, which included Olympic silver medallist Nathan Robertson, had "carefully considered" information from local police authorities.

“ Our athletes were extremely well prepared for these championships but, at the end of the day, personal safety must take priority over performance ”
Ian Moss Badminton England

And after taking advice from the Foreign Office and British High Commission, the conclusion made by Badminton England was "that safety is of paramount importance," he added.

Performance director Ian Moss said: "It is a disappointing outcome, especially after we had enjoyed a very good preparation at our holding camp in Doha, Qatar, last week.

"Our athletes were extremely well prepared for these championships but, at the end of the day, personal safety must take priority over performance.


Rahul Tandon, BBC News, Calcutta The decision by the England badminton team to pull out of the World Championships came as a surprise to many here. But it does raise questions about India's ability to host major sporting events. There are plenty of them coming up. The first ever Cricket Champions League featuring teams from England, South Africa and New Zealand takes place in October. It was cancelled last year because of the attacks in Mumbai. Whilst India's largest ever sporting event the Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi next year. Security is a sensitive issue with the sporting authorities here. They say there was no specific threat against the championships in Hyderabad but they know that following the Mumbai attacks some sports stars are worried about coming to India. Those fears grew when the world's most lucrative cricket tournament, the IPL, was shifted from India to South Africa earlier this year. The men who run Indian sport are now going to have to work hard to counter the growing perception that the world's biggest democracy is not a safe place for international sports stars.
"This was a unanimous squad decision and is not reflective of the efforts made by the organising committee to create the safest environment possible for all athletes."

Terror attacks

Lashkar-e-Taiba is Urdu for Soldiers of the Pure, and is a Pakistan-based organisation fighting against Indian control in Kashmir.

It has been blamed for several terrorist incidents in India including the October 2005 bomb attacks in Delhi, which saw 60 people killed, and is alleged to have played a part in the armed raid on the Indian parliament in December 2001.

It was also linked with the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008, which killed at least 188 people.

Gerry Sutcliffe, the sport minister, insisted the decision had been that of Badminton England alone.

He added: "It's a decision that's not taken lightly, but you have to support them, because the players' security has to come first."

Ms Smillie said she understood that England was the only team to pull out of the tournament.

The Scots have two singles players in the tournament - Susan Hughes and Alistair Casey.

Welsh Badminton said its three Welsh players are still at the championships, but that the situation is being closely monitored.

The Foreign Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport had earlier issued a statement saying: "The British High Commission had been in close contact with the Indian authorities which gave assurances that the highest level of security was in place around the Badminton World Championships."

 

Amidst Flu, Terrorist Threat, Malaysia Eyes World Badminton Title

Bernama.com
August 09, 2009 16:31 PM


By P.Vijian

HYDERABAD, Aug 9 (Bernama) -- Under a canopy of tight security, Malaysian shuttlers will begin their quest for the prestigious Yonex-Sunrise World Badminton Champions on Monday, as Indian officials quelled any terrorist threat to players in the historical city which was once ruled by the aristrocratic Nizam dynasty.

Ignoring a milieu of woes -- security risks across India ahead of its Independence Day on Aug 15, compounded by the swelling swine flu deaths -- the world's top badminton players assembled in the Andra Pradesh capital.

The state has been vulnerable to terrorist strikes in the past.

Acting on intelligence gatherings, India's top security agency, Intelligence Bureau (IB) has alerted that terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba might launch a strike, similar to the armed ambush on the Sri Lankan national cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan, last March, where several players were injured.

But, undeterred by outside troubles, a relaxed Malaysian team warmed up inside the Gochibowli Indoor Stadium, where their only rivals now are the strong wind from the internal air-conditioning that could disturb the flow of shuttlecocks and the overpowering, ultra-fit Chinese players.

"The air-condition is certainly a problem inside the stadium, our players are trying to adjust their play," national singles coach Datuk Misbun Sidek told Bernama today.

Commenting on his prodigy, current world champion Datuk Lee Chong Wei, Misbun said Lee was not under any pressure, even from his shadow-rival China's Lin Dan, seeded fifth in the tournament.

"I told him to focus on his game, he is the number one now. I just want him to concentrate on the tournament and not on Lin Dan.

"He (Lin Dan) is just another player in the tournament, he is not superior" added Misbun.

Asked about the overall mood of the national badminton team for the championship, Misbun said Malaysian players were in the right frame of mind and ready for the big challenge.

"This is the tournament they waited very much for. They are looking cheerful and ready for the game, both mentally and physically fit. They don't seem to be under any pressure," said Misbun.

This year's tournament has attracted 330 players from 44 badminton-playing nations.

 

(Maybe it is fair to tell England's side of the story by completing the other part of the above report.

England defend pull-out

Meanwhile, England yesterday defended their decision to pull out of the Worlds, saying security in the host city was lax.

Olympic silver medalist Nathan Robertson said he feared the team could have faced an attack like the one in which the Sri Lankan cricket team was targeted in Lahore, Pakistan, in March, which killed eight people.

The England team's decision to leave prompted claims that it had over-reacted from India's Home Secretary, G.K. Pillai, as well as the Scottish team.

"We don't think we have overreacted, we were very clear with our expectations of security before the championships," said Badminton England's chief executive, Adrian Christy.

"We went to Hyderabad with every intention of being met with appropriate levels of security considering recent attacks that have taken place in the country," he said at a press conference in Milton Keynes, north of London.

"We were not particularly impressed with the level of security that we were faced with."

(AFP/China Daily August 11, 2009)

 

Strong security for badminton worlds in India; England pulls out, citing safety conce

The Examiner

Associated Press
08/10/09 1:40 PM EDT

By: SANDEEP NAKAI


HYDERABAD, INDIA — Tight security marked the start of the World Badminton Championship on Monday, with more than 1,000 police officers deployed to protect teams a day after England pulled out because of safety concerns.

Every person entering the stadium in southern India passed through metal detectors and was frisked by police. The stadium floor was restricted to accredited team members, coaches and tournament supervisors.

Uniformed police traveled on team buses from the hotel to the venue, with organizers intent on making security more visible for badminton's showpiece event.

Thomas Lund, chief operating officer of the Badminton World Federation, said no other team "expressed any reservation" about security.

"The players are enjoying the championships and the focus is back on badminton," he added. "England's decision to withdraw was an overreaction. Everything here's fine."

China's Lin Dan, looking to become the first player to win three successive titles, played his first match Monday. It was the first time he played in India.

"I don't see the security as a problem," Lin said.

China coach Li Yong Bo was pleased with arrangements the past three days.

"Of course, we're concerned about our security, but have seen that India's done a wonderful job," Li said.

Adrian Christy, chief executive of Badminton England, said Monday his team was not given "appropriate levels of security" for the tournament.

Security concerns over sports events in South Asia have been heightened since the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan, that killed six police officers and a driver in March.

Seven cricketers, an assistant coach and a match official were injured, and England's Commonwealth Games champion Nathan Robertson said he and his teammates were disturbed by the threat of a similar attack.

"It wasn't a safe place for staff or players," Robertson said at the news conference in Milton Keynes, England. "We were on back roads with no armed guards or anything — just a bus driver. It doesn't matter to me where it is in the world, we weren't safe in that situation. It wasn't a difficult decision in my mind."

But John Ahlert, security consultant for badminton's world federation, was satisfied with the way the security agencies had done their job Monday.

"We've had no problems ... not even water bottles were allowed inside (the stadium)," Ahlert said.

Lund said security consultants had been working with organizers and police for months.

In November, terror attacks in Mumbai left 164 people dead and forced the cancellation in India of a cricket tournament involving provincial teams from five countries.


Find this article at:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sports/ap/52890467.html

 

And CHN will continue to dominate, certainly not ENG, as CHN already have a well-established system of developing young shuttlers. Apart from table-tennis, badminton is another favourite with the masses and with increasing wealth, Chinese companies are more willing to sponsor events, just like what Li Ning is now doing. So will powerhouses like INA and MAS, INA being the largest economy in Southeast Asia.

JPN & KOR will have to create more incentives and opportunites for the young to become badminton professionals and will have to re-look into their system of selecting, nurturing and developing them. They are not much different from their European counterparts where economic and living standards are higher and receiving a good education means a first step to financial security and success. To many parents badminton does not give their children the assurance. SIN is also in the same boat.

However, if IND continue to pay greater interest in the game as they do now and more sponsors are willing to invest in professional badminton to market their own brand names, IND could be the next powerhouse, say in a generation. But IND have not known to be agressive in sports, even their cricket and hockey teams have underperformed for quite a while now compared to their sterling years.

So unfortunately CHN will continue to dominate for a long time to come. They can keep badminton fans interested with their continuous stream of new talented faces, especially the pretty ones, guys and gals alike.