England has pulled out of the badminton World Championships

 Aug 9 , 2009 - England has pulled out of the World Championships, citing concerns over a "specific terrorist threat." Badminton England released a statement saying there was, " "concerns about the English team potentially being a target of attack in the event of a terrorist act."  A foreign office spokesperson said, "The decision to withdraw from the world championship was entirely theirs, and they took the decision based on their own assessment on the ground and the Foreign Office travel advice for India which warns of a high general threat level ... although it doesn't warn specifically against travel to Hyderabad.  An Indian badminton official believes the media is to blame for causing panic.   

"They (England players) didn't want to go actually. They were called back by their government over security fears," Punnaiah Choudhary, Badminton Association of India (BAI) joint secretary, told Reuters. "They were disappointed and so are we as organisers. A rumour (of the threat) was stretched by the media internationally."
 (an security guard keeps watch at the indoor stadium.)
 

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