The Covid-19 pandemic is badly affecting the careers of Malaysia's independent badminton players unlike their BAM counterparts who have less to worry about.
They are finding it hard to make ends meet while those in the BAM stable can still count on financial backing from the national association.
This has forced former national player Soong Joo Ven to withdraw from the Spain Masters on May 18-23 because it is too expensive for him to compete due to "extra costs" arising from Covid-19.
For him, the much increased costs of competing overseas are no longer worth it. Apart from travel, Joo Ven expects to pay for a 14-day hotel quarantine upon his return to Malaysia.
The 26-year-old men's singles told Timesport yesterday: "It's really a struggle for us professional players. We simply cannot afford to play in tournaments right now.
"Just last month I spent RM20,000 to play in two European tournaments (Swiss Open and Orleans Masters).
"And it's going to cost me RM15,000 to compete in Spain alone next month. It's too much.
"Players like me don't earn much and our sponsors don't cover the full cost. However, we are left without a choice because we still need to maintain our world ranking.
"I can't play badminton forever, it's a short career, so I really need to slog."
Joo Ven is not the only professional player to pull out of the Spain Masters. It is learnt that men's doubles, Nur Azriyn Ayub-Wong Tien Ci have also withdrawn from the Super 300 event.
Former World Championships bronze medallist Liew Daren echoed Joo Ven's sentiments. The 34-year-old is thinking of skipping the Singapore Open on June 1-6.
"It's just too expensive. Playing in Singapore is like playing in Europe. The hotel alone is US$250 (RM1,025) a night. This is excluding the 14-day hotel quarantine when we come back to Malaysia," he lamented.
Previously, travellers returning to Malaysia from abroad only needed to go through a 10-day mandatory quarantine but with the emergence of new Covid-19 variants, the government had reverted to the 14-day period for returnees from a list of countries.
BAM's national training centre was recently rocked by a spate of positive Covid cases. However, they will send the backup and junior players to three European tournaments next month: the Spain Masters, Slovenia International (May 19-22) and Austrian Open (May 27-30).