Virusfallout
The top 16 singles players in Race to Tokyo rankings, with the exception of more than two players from the same nation, get a direct qualification berth for the Olympics. In doubles, it is the top eight pair that makes the cut.
Race to Tokyo is different from the world rankings in only one way—the world rankings are calculated on points earned i n a 5 2 - week c ycl e, Race t o Tokyo looks at points earned from April 29, 2019 to April 28, 2020.
The World Badminton Federation clarified on Friday that it is not “at this time planning to make any adjustments to the regulations related to the Olympic qualification period.”
“Any change to the existing Olympic qualification rules will affect different players both positively or negatively, and with the present level of postponement and cancellation, BWF does not believe that making changes is appropriate,” BWF said in a statement.
It means that the qualification period will not be extended, and if there are no more tournaments from now on, the current rankings will be used to determine who will be at the Olympics.
I f t hat happens, only PV Sindhu (7) and Sai Praneeth (11) qualify in singles. The doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (8) will just manage to scrape through.
“The cancelations won’t affect us even if there are no tournaments held from now on, we will qualify and get eighth seeding,” said Chirag.
“But a few good performances would have helped us consolidate that spot. But for Srikanth and Saina these tournaments are very important,” he added.
India’s chief coach Pullela Gopichand is wary too.
“It is kind of very tricky right now. All it take is five new cases to come up for the situation to change,” said Gopichand.
“I think we are just living day to day. We don’t know where and how things can change because this is not about badminton or any other sport, it’s an health emergency for countries.”
INDIA OPEN
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) had been able to get a clearance for Chinese players who have been c amping i n Europe from before the virus outbreak came to light in China, and who have been quarantined there. But with the virus spreading in Europe, there can be a fresh look at clearances. A BAI official said the government has asked for more updates about the Chinese contingent, including their addresses in China, how long they have been in Europe, and medical certificates.
The official said a lot will depend on whether t he All England goes ahead or not.
“If All England takes place, India Open will also go on. We have lesser cases in India than UK and the Indian government has been supportive. They are just asking for documents.
“As of now there is no threat to the tournament because Chinese players are already out of China and they have been quarantined. Apart from China, visas of Hong Kong players are also on hold.” The official added.
FIFA warns coronavirus could lead to postponement of international matches
BELFAST: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has refused to rule out postponing international football matches in response to the escalating global threat of the coronavirus. This weekend’s matches in the leading two divisions in Switzerland, where football’s global governing body FIFA has its headquarters, were postponed on Friday after the government banned all events involving more than a thousand people.
“The health of persons is much more important than any football game,” said Infantino as he arrived in Belfast on Friday for this weekend’s annual general meeting of the rule-making International Football Association Board. “That’s why we have to look at the situation and hope that it (the coronavirus) will decrease rather than increase. At the moment it looks like it is still increasing. “If games have to be postponed or played without spectators until it is over, then we have to go through that.”