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US Field Hockey Women Return Home From India Amid Security Concerns

Colorado Springs , Colo. – The U.S. women’s field hockey team has heeded a Department of State warning and  returned home from India  prior to its scheduled World Cup qualifying series. The move came a week before the U.S. team was scheduled to play India in a best-of-three series to decide the final team to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, Nov. 24-Dec 8, in Perth, Australia.

After arriving in India earlier in the week, the team, traveling with U.S. Olympic Committee Security Chief Larry Buendorf, was advised to leave the country following a U.S. Department of State warning that tensions between India and Pakistan had “…risen to serious levels, and the risk of intensified military hostilities…cannot be ruled out.”   International Hockey Federation (FIH) officials en route to India were likewise recalled.

The series was orginally scheduled for June 3-5 in New Delhi.

The team’s exit from India marked the second time international events have prevented the U.S. team from competing in a World Cup qualifier. The team was originally scheduled to compete in the World Cup Qualifying tournament in France in September 2001, but terrorist attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11 grounded the team, and prevented the U.S. from taking part in the tournament.

At that time, the FIH offered an alternative qualifying opportunity for the U.S. with a best-of-three series against the qualifying tournament’s seventh place team. India eventually earned the 7^th place spot.

An alternative venue for the series is currently under negotiation between the FIH, U.S. Field Hockey and the India Hockey Confederation.

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