Malaysian shuttlers in Thailand taking precautions, China masters postponed

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 -- The national women's badminton team, currently undergoing training in Bangkok, Thailand, is taking all necessary precautions in the wake of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

Yesterday, Thai authorities confirmed its first local human-to-human transmission of the virus, comprising a Thai taxi driver, with the total number of coronavirus cases in Thailand standing at 19, the most outside of China so far.

Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) coaching director Wong Choong Hann told Bernama the team  was taking the preventive measures and precautions recommended by the health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO). On Thursday, WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

The Malaysian players in Thailand are singles shuttlers Soniia Cheah and S. Kisona with coach Chin Eei Hui, as well as doubles pairs Pearly Tan-M. Thinaah and Chow Mei Kuan-Lee Meng Yean who are under the supervision of Rosman Razak.

Choong Hann said the shuttlers continued with their stay in Bangkok after the Thailand Masters, held from Jan 21 to 26, to prepare for the Badminton Asia Team Championships from Feb 11 to 16 in Manila, Philippines.

“They are undergoing intensive training there and after their training sessions, they go directly to their hotel rooms. They have minimal exposure to the risk (of infection) as the training centre and hotel are safer than other places.

“We have informed the players to take all the precautions recommended such as washing hands frequently. They will return to Malaysia on Wednesday, before heading to Manila,” he said.

Despite the outbreak, Choong Hann said all national shuttlers are preparing well and are focused on achieving their objectives of finishing in the top four in Manila to qualify on merit for the 2020 Thomas Cup and Uber Cup at Aarhus, Denmark from May 16 to 24. 

The men’s team has been drawn with Taiwan and Singapore in Group C, while the women’s team is placed with Japan and Hong Kong in Group W, in the Manila championship. 

As for the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC) scheduled to take place from April 21 to 26 in Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, Choong Hann said he believed the best option would be for the tournament venue to be changed if the outbreak still poses a high risk.

“Postponing or cancelling the tournament won’t be a good move because that is the last tournament offering Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualification points. It is too early and up to the BWF (Badminton World Federation) to decide, but the tournament is the last opportunity for players from Asia to get valuable ranking points,” he said.

Meanwhile, the BWF in a statement, confirmed the postponement of the China Masters, one of the Tokyo qualifiers scheduled from Feb 25 to March 1 at the Lingshui Agile Gymnasium in Sanya, to a date that has yet to be announced.

The BWF said new time slots are being discussed with the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) with options available from May onwards. This means that ranking points from the event will no longer contribute towards qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, as the Masters will be held outside the qualification window which ends on April 29.

“The BWF and CBA have considered all necessary health, safety and logistical risks, and both parties believe it is sensible to postpone the tournament at this time. It may be noted that many players have already withdrawn from the tournament.

“The BWF is continuing to monitor all official updates on the coronavirus and is mindful that the BWF World Tour (in Guangzhou from Dec 9-13) and other BWF-sanctioned tournaments may be affected, but there are no concrete plans or decisions at this point to change the status of any other events,” the statement read.

-- BERNAMA