ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

Indian Badminton Players Pull Out of All England, Cite Coronavirus

A few top Indian badminton players have pulled out of the All England Championship next week.

Updated
Olympic Sports
2 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female

Indian shuttlers, including H S Prannoy and world no 10 men's pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, have withdrawn from next week's All England Championships due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.

The season's first World Tour Super 1000 tournament, the prestigious All England Championships, which counts towards qualification for Tokyo 2020 begins on March 11.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

"Some of the players have written to BAI, informing about their decision to withdraw from the All England Championships. Top doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, H S Prannoy, Sameer Verma and Sourabh Verma have so far withdrawn," BAI secretary Ajay Singhania told PTI.

“However, Saina Nehwal, P V Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra will be participating in the tournament.”

The outbreak of COVID-19 has so far killed over 3,100 people and infected more than 91,000 globally.

Chirag said players were concerned about travelling via Dubai.

"Everyone is worried about the Coronoravirus outbreak. In United Kingdom the number of infected has touched 90, so it is a concern. Also we had to travel via Dubai Airport, which is one of the busiest airports, it makes one vulnerable," Chirag said.

0

Chirag and Satwik had to pull out of the 2019 edition as well due to latter's shoulder injury.

Sameer, Prannoy, Manu-Sumeeth all lost in the opening round, while Sourabh didn't make it to the draw last year and therefore don’t have to defend any ranking points.

The Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the international calender of various sports across the globe.

Concerns over the rapid spread of the deadly virus has already forced the postponement of the four Olympic qualifying events so far -- Lingshui China Masters (February 25 to March 1), Vietnam International Challenge (24-29 March 24-29) and German Open (March 3 to 8) and Polish Open (March 26-29). PTI

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from sports and olympic-sports

Published: 
Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×