The China badminton team decided to pull out of the Swiss Open Super 300 tournament. The tournament had commenced on Tuesday but they took the decision after multiple COVID-19 cases and injuries to its players were recorded as per the details provided by the game’s governing body, Badminton World Federation(BWF). The body also stated that many players have withdrawn from the tournament after testing positive for the dreaded virus. Previously, China had also withdrawn from the Asia Badminton Team Championships in Malaysia in February due to COVID-19 cases.
BWF issues statement on the withdrawal of China Badminton team
“Several players from a number of Member Associations tested positive on their pre-arrival test and arrival test and have been removed from the draw,” BWF said in a statement.
It added: “Chinese Badminton Association reported a few positive cases as well as some injuries to players in their team. Citing concerns to the welfare and safety of all participants at the tournament, Team China have subsequently withdrawn all their players from the YONEX Swiss Open 2022.”
China are a traditional badminton powerhouse, winning 10 Thomas Cups (men’s team competition), 15 Uber Cups (women’s team competition) and 12 Sudirman Cups (mixed team competition). They are the most successful country in badminton at the Olympics with 20 gold medals.
Last year in January as well, China had withdrawn from Badminton World Federation (BWF) Yonex Thailand Open and Toyota Thailand Open after a surge of COVID-19 cases in the host country. The two tournaments had marked the return of BWF Super 1000 competition since it was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese Badminton Association had confirmed the withdrawal of its team from both tournaments after Thailand had experienced a surge in coronavirus cases.
