Leandro Negre, the President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), declared on Monday that India is safe to host the tournament but the Australian team are refusing to commit themselves to the 12-nation tournament which is due to be held between March 7 and 20.

 

 

Security concerns in South Asia have increased after the terror attack on Mumbai in November last year which left 166 people dead and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore in March.

 

A spokesman for Hockey Australia said: "At this stage we believe the situation appears safe.

 

"However, we will continue to monitor the situation.

 

"The safety of our players, staff and officials is of the upmost priority and any decision we make will be made with this in mind."

 

Ric Charlesworth, Australia's coach, formerly worked as technical director to the Indian Hockey Federation but left, he claimed, partly because of fears over his family's safety in New Delhi.

 

The Australians turned down an invitation from India earlier this year to travel there to take part in a four-nation tournament because of security concerns.

 

Also in April the Australians opted to forfeit their Davis Cup tie in India because they feared for their safety.

 

Some of the country's most prominent names, including former Olympic swimming champion Dawn Fraser, has called for next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi to be cancelled because of security fears.

 

An Australian withdrawal would be a serious set-back for the World Cup, which this week signed a deal with Honda to be the title sponsor.

 

They won the tournament in London in 1986 and have finished runners-up in the last two events, in Kuala Lumpur in 2002 and Mönchengladbach in 2006.

 

Prior to that they won the bronze medal in the 1978, 1982, 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cup events.