NEW DELHI, May 28: India are opposed to plans by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to play their postponed World Cup play-off series against the United States in England, an official said Tuesday.

“We can’t afford to have anything before the Commonwealth Games,” Amrit Bose, secretary of the Indian Women’s Hockey Federation, told Reuters.

“They (FIH) can’t force us to fit in with the whims and fancies of the U.S. team.”

A play-off had been scheduled in New Delhi from June 3-6 but was called off after the U.S. squad, having arrived earlier in the week, returned home on Saturday because of growing fears of a war betwen India and Pakistan.

The FIH announced on its website that it was exploring the possibility of staging the play-offs prior to the Commonwealth Games which begin in Manchester on July 25.

The World Cup will be held in Perth, Australia from Nov 24 to Dec 8.—Reuters