Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Badminton England confirmed on Thursday that all players and team members from the Indonesian team have withdrawn from the Yonex All England Open tournament due to fears of covid-19. This announcement comes on the back of reports suggesting that one passenger on Inonesian team’s flight was tested positive for coronavirus.
The Indonesian team have been contacted by the UK Government’s National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace service. They are required to self-isolate for days with immediate effect. The decision to withdraw the entire squad from the Yonex All England Open 2021 has been taken since numerous players will not be able to feature in the next round due to self isolation.
In the official statement, BWF said,“While we regret this unfortunate consequence, BWF and Badminton England will continue to follow all protocols required by the UK Government and the local health authorities to ensure the safety of all participants.”
The governing body of Badminton also mentioned about the results and draws to remain unchanged and intact, with the opponents scheduled to face Indonesia getting a walkover to the next round.
The first day of All England Open saw a number of Indians progress as well as some facing disappointment. PV Sindhu lived up to the hype by proceeding ahead for the next round as she defeated Malaysia’s Soniia Cheah in the first round of the tournament, winning the game by 21-11, 21-17.
Along with Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, HS Pranoy, Sameer Verma and Sai Praneet progressed to 2nd round of All England Open Badminton championships. The starting match of the Indian duo Kidambi Srikanth & Parupali Kashyap saw them crash out of the tournament. For additional disappointment, veteran Saina Nehwal was compelled to exit the competition while facing Mia Blichfeld due to injury. Nehwal had lost the first game and trailing in the second game.