There was no sound of beating drums as traditionally heard in almost every badminton tournament held in Thailand.

The Impact Arena in Bangkok, where the 2020 Yonex Thailand Open was held from Jan. 12 to Sunday, was quiet -- even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard during the match.

The only applause during the tournament came from the coaches’ benches, where their encouragement for their protégés sounded like a huge effort to break the silence inside the stadium.

Players shouting after winning a point was probably the loudest sound throughout the tournament, but even the loudest screaming was not enough to uplift the desolate atmosphere.

The first of three tournaments in the Asian leg hosted by Thailand as 2021 calendar openers may well be a taste of the many upcoming badminton tournaments, at least until the COVID-19 pandemic is contained.

Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has only held two events so far: the Danisa Denmark Open in October last year, and the Yonex Thailand Open.

Thailand will host two more tournaments this month, namely the Toyota Thailand Open and the 2020 BWF World Tour Finals. The latter event was pushed back from last year’s calendar.

In all Thailand events, all participants are required to arrive at least a week before the tournament commences to undergo quarantine. Players and their entourage must have at least eight swab tests before and during the Asian leg.

In general, all athletes, coaches, staff and entourage members are required to return a negative COVID-19 test before boarding their Thailand-bound flights. Upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport, every participant is subjected to body temperature checks, according to bwfbadminton.com.

Players and their entourage, in socially distanced assigned seats on their buses, are then escorted to the hotel by police as part of the BWF’s safety protocols, which include avoiding contact with those not in the strict sports bubble.

Besides not having spectators in the stadium, some changes caught attention during the recent Thailand Open, which was streamed by the BWF on its official YouTube channel.

In the stadium, shuttlecocks were prepared at the side of the courts, instead of the usual spot in the service judge’s box. Players, coaches and match officials were required to wear masks on courts, while the court moppers sported plastic suits, covering most of their body.

During the first Asian leg, India’s Srikanth Kidambi suffered a nosebleed after undergoing the required polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The Badminton Association of Thailand later issued a statement regarding the incident, saying that “irritation and fragility of the capillaries” possibly caused the nose to bleed as Kidambi had been swabbed three times before the incident.

Despite all the safety measures, Egyptian Adham Hatem Elgamal as well as two supporting staffers, respectively from the Germany and France teams, tested positive for COVID-19 during the first week of the Asian leg. The three have received hospital treatment.

Amid challenges, Indonesia managed to bring home the Thailand Open’s gold medal after Greysia Polii and Apriani Rahayu thrashed hosts Rawinda Prajongjai and Jongkolphan Kititharakul 21-15, 21-12 in the women’s doubles.

Greysia looked emotional after winning her first super 1000 title as she just lost her brother prior to coming to the tournament.

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