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Indonesia decries removal from All England tournament after virus contact
The United Kingdom's National Health Service has ordered Indonesian badminton team members to self-isolate for 10 days after a passenger on the flight the team took to Birmingham tested positive for COVID-19.
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A worker wearing a face shield cleans a net to prevent the spread of COVID-19 ahead of a match at the Toyota Thailand Open badminton tournament in Bangkok, on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2021. (AFP/Badminton Association of Thailand/Handout)
T
he Indonesian badminton team, its fans and officials have expressed disappointment over the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) decision to remove the country’s team from this year’s All England tournament after members of the team reportedly came into close contact with a person who later tested positive for COVID-19.
The federation issued a statement on Thursday morning Jakarta time confirming that the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) was requiring a number of Indonesian players to self-isolate for 10 days after a person aboard the flight the team took from Istanbul, Turkey, to Birmingham tested positive for COVID-19.
“All Indonesian players will be unable to compete in the current or next round of the tournament and have therefore been withdrawn from the 2021 All England Open,” the BWF wrote in the statement.
The BWF added that all competition results to date and the draw would remain unchanged, while all of the Indonesian team’s scheduled opponents in the next round would be given walkovers.
On Thursday, the BWF confirmed that Turkish shuttler Neslihan Yigit, who was on the same flight as the Indonesian team, had been removed from the tournament for the same reason. Yigit's name was previously still on Thursday's match schedule when the Indonesian shuttlers had been already withdrawn from the tournament.
The federation stressed that the NHS Test and Trace service had independently ordered the players to undergo the 10 days of self-isolation.
"We can confirm impassioned attempts were made by Badminton England to gain exemption for the players and Indonesian team members and to explore alternative options to guarantee their participation. However, the UK government’s legislation is in place, first and foremost, to protect the British public from COVID-19, and their decision was final and non-negotiable," the BWF wrote.
