India safe for global sports events: PC

Home Minister P Chidambaram, who spent the Sunday watching the World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad sitting in the VIP gallery, said the successful hosting of the event shows that international tournaments are safe in India. Chidambaram made a surprise visit on the final day.

Home Minister P Chidambaram, who spent the Sunday watching the World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad sitting in the VIP gallery, said the successful hosting of the event shows that international tournaments are safe in India.

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Chidambaram, who made a suprise visit on the final day, said he wanted to thank the state government for providing full-proof security.

"Some of you have last week questioned the security in Hyderabad. Despite a statement made by me, one of the teams withdrew. Frankly speaking, I was burning inside. I thought I could come here and compliment the Andhra Pradesh government and Andhra Pradesh police," Chidambaram told reporters.

"My special thanks to the commiossioner of Hyderabad and Cyberabad for the full-proof security. It proves India's ability to hold international tournaments in safe and secure enviorenment," he added.

Chidambaram was almost unnoticed before he was spotted sitting in the VIP gallery. He was seen enjoying the matches and then gave away the medals to the winners.

"I enjoyed the game. It was great fun," he said.

The England team and two Austrian players had pulled out of the tournament, citing security concerns.