'Our athletes were extremely well prepared for these Championships but, at the end of the day, personal safety must take priority over performance,' he said.

'This was a unanimous squad decision and is not reflective of the efforts made by the Organising Committee to create the safest environment possible for all athletes.'

England's decision to pull out comes despite Home minister P. Chidambaram's assurance that the tournament would take place 'in complete security'.

'I am satisfied that the World Badminton Championship will take place in complete security. No one need to have any apprehensions on this score,' Chidambaram said in a statement Saturday.

'The alert in Hyderabad was based on information shared with the state police in a routine manner. There is no specific information that points to any imminent threat to the badminton championship.'

The home minister pointed out that the state police had taken all measures necessary to fully secure the tournament and ensure the safety of every player.

Officials of the Intelligence Bureau had visited the stadium as well as the badminton academy being run by player-turned-coach Pullela Gopichand to take stock of the situation and alert the organisers over the possible threat from the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Over 250 policemen have been deployed at the stadium, the Gopichand Academy, where the players are practicing and at four different hotels where the players and officials are staying.

The England squad:

Singles: Andrew Smith, Rajiv Ouseph

Doubles: Anthony Clark, Nathan Robertson, Chris Adcock, Donna Kellogg, Gabby White and Jenny Wallwork.