CHENNAI: The women’s badminton team has withdrawn from the upcoming Badminton Asia Team Championships in Manila, the Philippines due to fears over the hazardous coronavirus outbreak. This newspaper had earlier reported that there were worries within the camp, especially the women’s section.
It has been learnt that some of the players were unwilling to go while parents of the younger players were unwilling to send their children for the February 11-16 event due to concerns. To address the issue, Ajay Singhania, Badminton Association of India (BAI) general secretary, had flown to Hyderabad on Thursday to have a meeting with the shuttlers and coaches.
“The parents are highly worried and the federation also has high concerns. The parents have informed us they do not want to send their children. And as this is a team event, we can’t send anyone (women) if the whole team (women) is not on the same page,” Ajay told this daily. The father of one of the shuttlers also confirmed that his daughter was not going. BAI had named a young eight-member women’s squad for the continental event recently. The squad included some promising stars like Ashmita Chaliha, Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap and Gayatri Gopichand. BAI had earlier reached out to Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) and the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the world body, for assurances.
All this was down to the outbreak of coronavirus in China. Termed a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), the deadly virus has reportedly claimed over 600 lives, mostly in China. And the numbers continue to grow each day. It has reportedly affected more than 31,000 people worldwide. The first fatality due to the virus outside China occurred in the Philippines just a few days ago. The men’s team though are ready to play in Manila. BAI has named a strong team with the likes of Kidambi Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy in the fray. “The men’s team is game for the competition and they are expected to leave early morning on Sunday. Their flight, hotel pre-bookings and other formalities have been completed,” Ajay revealed.
The men, who have been grouped alongside Indonesia and Philippines in Group A, will be determined to make a strong impression in the event. The tournament serves as the Asian qualifiers for the 2020 Thomas & Uber Cup. The shuttlers can also garner points as part of the qualification process for the Tokyo Olympics.