Seven Indian Badminton Players Test Positive For COVID-19
Seven Indian badminton player playing in the India Open 2022 have been found positive for Covid-19
India is currently seeing a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases everyday with the Omicron variant wrecking havoc. Delhi in particular is recording over 20,000 cases everyday.
India Open 2022 is a badminton tournament organised by the Badminton Association of India. The tournament is being held behind closed doors in Delhi and began on 11th January with India’s big names participating. But as per the COVID-19 protocols of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) all the participating players have to mandatorily undergo RT PCR test everyday at the hotel. On 12th January, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced that seven Indian players had tested positive for the coronavirus and all of them were withdrawn from the tournament. The seven players who have tested positive include famous Indian players like Kidambi Srikanth and Ashwini Ponappa along with Ritika Rahul Thaker, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singhi and Khushi Gupta. BWF confirmed that following their results, the seven who tested positive and the doubles partners, who were deemed their close contacts, were all withdrawn from the tournament. BWF also said that the players will not be replaced and their opponents will be given a walkover to the next round. The statement added that the testing protocols have been implemented to ensure the health and safety of all participants.
