It’s the Cup of pullouts but BAM won’t follow the tide.
But BAM will stick to plan of sending team to Denmark
KUALA LUMPUR: A spate of withdrawals has dealt a devastating blow to the forthcoming Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct 3-11.
Reigning women’s singles world champion P. V. Sindhu has informed the Badminton Association of India (BAI) that she will skip the Uber Cup Finals because of “personal reasons”.
The news came just a day after Taiwan announced that they will not be sending their men and women’s teams to the Finals because of the Covid-19 fears.
Taiwan have in their ranks world No. 1 woman singles player Tai Tzu-ying and her male teammate Chou Tien-chen who is second in the world.
Sindhu’s pullout is a fresh blow to India’s preparations as they are most probably going to be without men’s doubles star Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, who tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
Prior to these withdrawals, there were already concerns about defending Thomas Cup champions China who may skip the Finals if they fail to get a government approval to travel.
It is learnt that South Korea and Australia are also facing the same predicament and are waiting for their governments’ nod.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) will be left sweating over these developments as they had intended to revive the suspended season with the Finals, followed by two Open events in Denmark.
The world body had even managed to strike a deal with the Danish government to allow the participants to enter the country without having to serve the quarantine.
In addition to that, the BWF have also put in place a standard operating procedure (SOP) to minimise the risk of infection.
However, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) are still sticking to their plan to send their shuttlers to Denmark.
National coaching director Wong Choong Hann believes Malaysians know how to handle themselves during these unprecedented times.
“I think it makes sense for the players to feel uneasy with the current situation,” said Choong Hann.
“That’s why we had invited a BWF official to explain the SOP that they are going to carry out in Denmark to give them a peace of mind.
“In fact, we found some loopholes in the SOP and we have relayed our feedback to the BWF. We are in constant communication with the world body to ensure that the health and well-being of our team are taken care of.
“It’s not just the athletes but everyone will be worried about the virus until a vaccine is found.
“All we can do is protect ourselves by looking after our own hygiene and adhere to the SOP. Then our risk of infection can be greatly reduced.
“Our players are all professionals and I’m sure they will stay motivated and just think about performing once they are on court.”