THE national men and women’s badminton teams have no plans to withdraw from the Asia Team Championships in Manila, which starts tomorrow, despite growing concerns of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
The regional team event, however, has lost some of its spark as China, Hong Kong and the Indian women’s team have all decided to forgo the Manila tournament.
While the Philippines has issued a travel ban on China and its territories, the BA of India (BAI) decided to withdraw their women’s team due to concerns showed by the players.
However, their men’s team will travel to Manila.
The Asia Team meet not only offers Olympic qualifying points, but is also a qualifier for the Thomas Cup and Uber Cup in Denmark in May.
While the non-participation of several teams is a blow to the event, the BA of Malaysia (BAM) do not see a reason to pull out their players from the competition.
“Our team will leave tomorrow (today) morning. However, we will take the necessary precautions,” said BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh yesterday.
“Badminton Asia and the organisers have taken the necessary steps and we will abide by their regulations.”