NEW DELHI, March 26 Two of England's top badminton players have pulled out of the India Open citing security concerns, Indian media reported on Thursday, missing a chance to prepare at the venue for the world championships.

The Indian Express said Badminton England withdrew two players, which began on Wednesday in Hyderabad Deccan, following a travel advisory issued by the British and Commonwealth Foreign Office.

Badminton England spokesman William Kings was quoted saying that the players - Carl Baxter and Rajiv Ouseph - took their own decision but were “guided” by the officials.

“The players were made aware of the situation,” Kings said. “They were guided by Badminton England, and they tend to follow the guidelines since they are funded by UK Sports.”

France was the only European country to send a player to the India Open, which otherwise has attracted top players including world No 1-ranked Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan of China and former Olympic and world champion Taufiq Hidayat of Indonesia.

French team coach Fabrice Vallet said he did not feel the security scenario was dangerous.

“If you keep stressing about the security issue in these times, there aren't many places you can go to now,” Indian Express quoted Vallet as saying.

Hyderabad is due to host the world championships in August and organisers are confident the event will go ahead as scheduled.

A terror attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in neighbouring Pakistan earlier this month sent shockwaves around the world and heightened security fears for sports events across the sub-continent.

Six policemen and a driver were killed in the ambush in Lahore, Pakistan, and seven Sri Lankan cricket players, an assistant coach and match official were injured.

That tour was cancelled immediately and Pakistan's subsequent tour to Bangladesh was also called off on security grounds.

The Indian Premier League (IPL), a lucrative Twenty20 cricket tournament, was moved abroad to South Africa and the start pushed back a week to April 18 after the Indian government refused to sanction the match schedule because it clashed with federal elections.

There were concerns security forces would be over stretched covering matches and polling booths across the country.—AP