The BWF Announces Seven Players At India Open 2022 Infected With COVID-19

Illustration (Photo: BWF)

JAKARTA – The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced that seven players withdrew from the India Open 2022. They were withdrawn from the main draw after testing positive for COVID-19.

The seven players were found to be positive for the corona virus when they returned the results of the PCR test carried out on Tuesday, January 11. Several players who played in doubles who were deemed to be in close contact with the seven players have also been withdrawn from the tournament.

"Players will not be substituted in the main draw and their opponents will be awarded a walkover victory to the next round," the BWF wrote on their official website, quoted by VOI January 13.

The identities of the seven players who tested positive were not disclosed by the BWF. They simply state that the tournament takes place according to strict health protocols.

Cases of COVID-19 have hit ahead of this event. The British men's doubles pair, Ben Lane/Sean Vendy, have decided to withdraw from the India Open after Sean Vendy and coach Nathan Robertson tested positive for COVID-19.

Indonesia sent three representatives to this event. They are the men's doubles pair Hendra Setiawan/Mohammad Ahsan and the men's singles pair Tommy Sugiarto.

Of the two pairs, only Hendra/Ahsan made it to the second round of the tournament. The Daddies qualify after successfully eliminating the host's representative, Prem Singh Chouhan/Rajesh Verma.

Meanwhile, Tommy Sugiarto had to go home early after losing to representatives of Malaysia in the first round. He was unable to overcome Ng Tze Yong's obstacles in the match which lasted three sets, 16-21, 21-14, 5-21.