NEW DELHI: Organisers of India's national hockey tournament on Wednesday postponed the event scheduled for next month in the western city of Pune due to fears over swine flu.

"The senior men's nationals have been postponed due to the prevailing H1N1 conditions. The new dates shall be announced when conditions become normal there," Hockey India said in a statement.

Pune, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) southeast of India s financial capital Mumbai, has been the worst hit Indian city, with 13 deaths and a cluster of infections.

Hockey India's secretary general Mohammad Aslam said the organisation could not shift the tournament elsewhere on such short notice.

So far India has reported 25 swine flu deaths.

Tag: INDIA, HOCKEY, INDIA S, AUG, CITY, TOURNAMENT, SWINE FLU, HOCKEY INDIA, AFP, POSTPONED, DUE, PUNE, FLU, SWINE, DEATHS, CONDITIONS, FINANCIAL, HIT INDIAN, 13 DEATHS A,