Taiwan, Thailand And Australia Withdraw, Thomas And Uber Cup Still Held

Ratchanok Intanon from Thailand (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The International Badminton Federation (BWF) ensures that the 2020 Thomas and Uber Cup will continue as planned on 3-11 October in Aarhus, Denmark, even though three countries have decided to withdraw from the team championship.

Until now, there have been three countries that have confirmed that they will not send their athletes to Denmark. The three countries are Taiwan, Thailand and Australia.

"BWF confirms that the 2020 BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Final in Aarhus, Denmark will continue as planned even though the Thai men's and women's teams decide to resign," said a BWF statement reported by Antara, Wednesday.

But the BWF has yet to decide whether it will seek replacement countries to fill the gap left by Australia, Thailand and Taiwan.

BWF ensures that they continue to prioritize the health and safety of all players and personnel during the tournament.

One of them is by implementing a bubble system or isolating players in one place in order to create a competitive situation that is safe from the threat of exposure to COVID-19.

Taiwan, Australia and Thailand previously stated that they would not participate in this year's Thomas and Uber Cup due to concerns over the looming pandemic situation.

The Badminton Association of Australia said that the travel restriction policies in several Australian states and the safety of players were the reasons they did not send their athletes to the most prestigious men's and women's badminton championships.

Meanwhile, the Thai Badminton Association stated that the number of players who refused to fly to Denmark was the reason for their withdrawal. Thailand does not have enough players to compete in a team tournament.