SYDNEY, Feb 18 Hockey Australia (HA) said Thursday there was no change in their plans to play in the forthcoming Hockey World Cup, despite calls from team family members to boycott the event over terrorism fears.

The organisation said it had been advised by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that there has been no change to the threat environment in India.

HA said it would continue to follow security protocols in relation to the players' safety in India, but “At this stage there is no change in our plans to participate in the 2010 Hockey World Cup”.

“In line with Hockey Australia's process of assessing emerging threats and changing conditions, we would obviously reassess our position should the current situation change,” HA Chief Executive Mark Anderson said in a statement.

New security fears surfaced after a bombing at a restaurant in the western Indian city of Pune, which killed 11 people on Saturday.

The Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online news website added to concerns when it said this week it had received a warning from an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group about attacking sports events in India.

Parents of Australian squad member Kieran Govers said they had cancelled their plans to watch their son play in the Hockey World Cup in New Delhi from Feb 28 to March 13.

“... prior to today I was quite happy to go and I felt quite safe ... but now we're definitely not going,” the players' mother, Jenny Govers, told the Daily Telegraph on Thursday.

“I just hope Hockey Australia says no and just pulls them out ... we are putting these players' lives at risk.

“I would like to see it transferred to another country, quite frankly,” Paul Kelly, from Sportslink International, the company responsible for booking most of the supporters' arrangements, said there had been late cancellations from Australians who had wanted to go to the Hockey World Cup. —AFP