India weighs up impact of Australia pullout

Tennis Australia (TA) said it would not send its players "into an area of such high risk", despite security clearance by the governing body of the sport, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and could face a year-long ban and a hefty fine.

Australia's stance provoked an angry response in India and the world's second most populous nation fears TA's move could send mixed signals to the international sporting fraternity ahead of a series of global events to be staged by the country.

"It's an indication that Tennis Australia thinks the security situation in India is as bad as Pakistan," New Delhi-based security analyst Uday Bhaskar told Reuters on Sunday."Such a perception can affect other sporting events to be held in India."

India, which has the second fastest growing major economy after China, is scheduled to host the world badminton championships this year, followed by the hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in 2010.Cricket-crazy India will co-host the one-day cricket World Cup along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in 2011 after Pakistan was stripped of hosting rights due to the security situation in that country.