Despite blast, England don’t want to miss WC

Despite renewed security concerns after the blast in Pune on Saturday, the English hockey team have said they don’t want to miss the forthcoming FIH World Cup in New Delhi. “I’m pretty sure that none of us want to miss out on a World Cup, with all the hype and the crowds, so we shall see what happens,” star midfielder Ashley Jackson was quoted as saying by BBC.

Last week, England performance director David Faulkner had said he would not hesitate to pull the squad out should intelligence reports suggest an imminent risk to his team.

Jackson added: “We speak about security regularly as a squad, with the management and all the people that are in the know. We try to get a general vibe to find out what each individual is thinking. But there’s not too much we can control. The only thing we can control is whether we go or not.”

Family safety first

Meanwhile, Olympian marathon runner Lee Troop of Australia has told his family to stay away from Delhi during the Commonwealth Games. Troop said he had planned to take his wife and child to the Games in October, but feared for their safety after tourists were the target in Pune on Saturday.

“I still plan to go if I qualify, but I wouldn’t want my wife and child to go,” Troop was quoted as saying by Melbourne’s Herald Sun.

Olympic bronze medallist Adam Vella, however, was heading to Delhi for the upcoming Commonwealth Shooting Championships and said he would not withdraw, unless government authorities advised him to.