NZ hockey players delay trip to India after terrorist threat

The New Zealand men's hockey team will stay in Perth for the time being rather than travel on to India after terror threats were made against sports events there.

Prime Minister John Key yesterday did not rule out giving outright advice not to go but he said "that would be a very big call".

"We certainly wouldn't make that call without full liaison with the Indians ... I think we are a long way away from making that call."

Guerrilla commander Ilyas Kashmiri, whose 313 Brigade is an operational arm of al Qaeda, the organisation blamed for the September 2001 attacks on New York, has warned the international community not to send people to the Hockey World Cup, the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition involving international players and the Commonwealth Games, to be held in Delhi in October.

Hockey New Zealand said yesterday that while the Black Sticks still planned to attend the hockey tournament in Delhi, which starts next week, it had decided to keep them in Perth until further notice.

The team are in Perth to play Australia - last night and tomorrow night.

The safety of the players, coaches and team management was of paramount importance and it made sense to further assess the situation before sending the team to Delhi, said Hockey NZ chief executive Hilary Poole.

"We have been monitoring this situation all along. But the events over the past 24 hours have led us to reassess the situation."

Hockey New Zealand had been receiving security advice from the Government and hockey and cricket associations about the security situation in India, she said.

Mr Key said the Government could give an assessment on the likelihood of an attack and give a sense of what security would be in place in India.

"The decision whether to travel or not ultimately rests with the sporting team. We wouldn't stop a sporting team going but it is important we are able to give them the best information possible so they can assess that."

- NZPA, staff reporter