Hyderabad: A terror alert has been sounded for the World Badminton Championship site at GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad from August 10 to 16, with the shadow of the dreaded Lashkar-e-Toiba looming over the tournament.
Sleuths of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) visited the stadium as well as the badminton academy being run by player-turned-coach Pullela Gopichand at Gachchibowli in Hyderabad on Friday to take stock of the situation and alert the organisers over the possible threat from the LeT, highly-placed police sources said.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) confirmed the visit by Intelligence Bureau sleuths though the Cyberabad police, under whose jurisdiction the event is being held, remained tight-lipped.
"Yes, the IB people have visited the stadium and the Academy and issued a general alert," BAI Joint-Secretary K Ch Punnaiah Choudary said.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner S Prabhakar Reddy, when contacted, refuse to comment on the issue.
State Police Spokesman and Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) A K Khan too was evasive saying the issue was being looked after by the Cyberabad Police.
Gopichand, however, pleaded ignorance about the IB personnel's visit. "I too was told about it but I don't have any specific information," he said.
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Already, about 160 players and officials from different countries have arrived in Hyderabad for the event and practice sessions are being conducted at the Gopichand's academy.
Another 170 players and officials would be arriving late on Friday night. "In all, 500 players and officials from about 45 countries would be taking part in the grand event," Punnaiah Choudary said.
Hyderabad was to stage the World Badminton Championship in 2007 but the twin bomb blasts at Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park forced cancellation of the prestigious event.
Now, with the fresh terror alert, a fresh challenge has been thrown before the Andhra Pradesh Police over organising such a major international sporting event.
"All stops are being pulled out to make sure the tournament and players are safe" — President of Andhra Pradesh Badminton Association , Durga Prasad to CNN-IBN
"I am not ruffled by these threats. We are focussing on the game and security will be looked after by security personnel" — Badminton Player Saina Nehwal to CNN-IBN
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