England will fly in to Delhi today, the last of the 12 teams to arrive for the World Cup that starts on Sunday, but security concerns continue to cast a shadow over the game’s showpiece event.
The International Hockey Federation is reluctant to admit it, but the tournament is very much a dress rehearsal for the Commonwealth Games in the city in October and the biggest sporting event to take place in India since the 1982 Asian Games.
Concerns have grown after 15 people were killed by a bomb in the western city of Pune last week. Asian Times Online also reported that it had received a warning from Ilyas Kashmiri, an alleged al-Qaeda operative who heads the 313 Brigade, a militant group, about attacking foreigners in India.
Speaking from England’s training camp in Doha, Qatar, David Faulkner, the England Hockey performance director, said yesterday: “The safety and security of the England squad remains our priority and we are in daily contact with the British High Commission in Delhi regarding security arrangements. We fully intend to go to the World Cup.”
G. K. Pillai, the Indian Home Secretary, said this week that the country will impose a security clampdown during the World Cup as it tests counter-terrorism measures before the Commonwealth Games.
“Delhi police and paramilitary forces will provide the bulk of the security presence, with armed commando escorts provided for the teams to and from the national stadium,” he said. However, he stressed that there had been no credible threat to the World Cup.
Neeraj Kumar, the Special Commissioner of Police, said that the airspace above the stadium would be patrolled by the Indian Air Force, with armed assault teams circling the venue in helicopters.
The state-of the-art Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the centre of the capital has already been sealed off to the public and fitted with surveillance cameras and explosive detectors. It is patrolled by sniffer-dog teams.
The pressure of trying to perform under such extraordinary measures has already proved too much for Simon Child, the New Zealand striker, who has pulled out. Admitting it was “the most difficult decision of my life”, the 21-year-old’s withdrawal is a significant blow to his side.
Faulkner, a Great Britain Olympic gold medal-winner in 1988, acknowledged that there was apprehension among the players. “The excitement of playing in a World Cup has been dented and it is unsettling,” he said.
Jason Lee, the head coach, said that England Hockey had done a superb job to resolve all the concerns, with specialist security personnel attached to the team 24 hours a day in the hotel, as well as being on duty in the coach and at the stadium.
“We’ll be stuck in the hotel a lot more than normal and I guess we’ll be suffering from cabin fever,” Lee said. “But the players can amuse themselves with all the technology and games around and who knows, some of them might even read a book.”
Tensions have been simmering in the Indian capital in the countdown to the eagerly awaited game on Sunday between the hosts and Pakistan.
Pakistan are wary of strong feelings against them in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. After arriving by coach on Monday evening, Shahid Ali Khan, their coach, said he had seen nothing extraordinary. “What we have here is normal security, something we would see for an international event at home,” he said.
Asif Bajwa, the team manager, said: “From the moment we entered India until we arrived at the hotel, security was strict and tight.”
The two former giants of the game have not met in a World Cup match since 1986 and with the game sold out, an emotional and passionate contest is expected.
The 12-nation tournament runs for two weeks, with Germany, the Olympic champions, aiming to make it a hat-trick of titles.
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