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I feel sad for the sport. This is the third time the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals have been postponed.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) did everything possible to reboot the sport. The team championships and the two World Tour events thereafter would have served as the ideal platform for a restart.
But there is only so much that the world body can do. I am disappointed by the way many of the top Asian players and nations responded to BWF’s call. They are responsible for the postponement.
None of the Asian countries which pulled out of the event have an issue with the pandemic. Their local and national circuits are running fine. Thailand just completed their national championships. China’s internal league is currently on. Malaysia conducted their league and the national team has been training for a while. Ditto with Korea and Chinese Taipei. Yet, Taipei was the first to pull out.
Obviously, Indonesia’s decision to withdraw came as a big blow. Badminton is a top sport there. Their team won the Thomas Cup zonals in Manila when the pandemic was beginning to spread in the Philippines earlier this year. So, why are they reluctant to play in a safe country like Denmark and that too in a bio-secure environment?
This instance proves once again that Asians, particularly in badminton, have a lot to learn from Europe and the USA in professional management of sport.
Take tennis. The maximum number of Covid cases are in the United States but they conducted the US Open very well. It was a good start for tennis. Now the Italian Open is on in a country which suffered a lot owing to the pandemic in March and April. Next is the French Open. Players are positive and ready to play. Golf and NBA too are up and running.
Take cricket, I will give a lot of credit to (BCCI president) Sourav Ganguly in conducting the IPL in the UAE. The BCCI has led from the front in showing that it was keen on kick-starting the sport.
In comparison, what has badminton done? It missed a golden opportunity to return to action. This is a big setback. We have to now wait for another year for the team championships. As for the other events this year, given the attitude, we don’t know what their fate will be.
(As told to V Narayan Swamy)
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) did everything possible to reboot the sport. The team championships and the two World Tour events thereafter would have served as the ideal platform for a restart.
But there is only so much that the world body can do. I am disappointed by the way many of the top Asian players and nations responded to BWF’s call. They are responsible for the postponement.
None of the Asian countries which pulled out of the event have an issue with the pandemic. Their local and national circuits are running fine. Thailand just completed their national championships. China’s internal league is currently on. Malaysia conducted their league and the national team has been training for a while. Ditto with Korea and Chinese Taipei. Yet, Taipei was the first to pull out.
Obviously, Indonesia’s decision to withdraw came as a big blow. Badminton is a top sport there. Their team won the Thomas Cup zonals in Manila when the pandemic was beginning to spread in the Philippines earlier this year. So, why are they reluctant to play in a safe country like Denmark and that too in a bio-secure environment?
This instance proves once again that Asians, particularly in badminton, have a lot to learn from Europe and the USA in professional management of sport.
Take tennis. The maximum number of Covid cases are in the United States but they conducted the US Open very well. It was a good start for tennis. Now the Italian Open is on in a country which suffered a lot owing to the pandemic in March and April. Next is the French Open. Players are positive and ready to play. Golf and NBA too are up and running.
Take cricket, I will give a lot of credit to (BCCI president) Sourav Ganguly in conducting the IPL in the UAE. The BCCI has led from the front in showing that it was keen on kick-starting the sport.
In comparison, what has badminton done? It missed a golden opportunity to return to action. This is a big setback. We have to now wait for another year for the team championships. As for the other events this year, given the attitude, we don’t know what their fate will be.
(As told to V Narayan Swamy)
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