COVID-19: Indonesian badminton team withdraws from All England Open

The entire Indonesian team has pulled out of the ongoing All England Open Badminton Championships 2021 after the UK government's National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace service instructed the contingent to self isolate for 10 days.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Badminton England on Thursday said that the entire Indonesian team will have to self-isolate from the date of their inbound flight after a person travelling onboard tested positive for coronavirus.

"The BWF and Badminton England can confirm that a number of players and team members from the Indonesian team have been contacted by the UK Government's National Health Service (NHS) Test and Trace service and are required to self-isolate with immediate effect," the BWF said in an official statement.

"All Indonesian players will not be able to compete in the current or next round of the tournament and have therefore been withdrawn from the YONEX All England Open 2021," it added.

According to BWF, all results to date will stand and the draw will remain unchanged. All scheduled opponents in the next round will be given a walkover.

Earlier, Indian shuttlers were cleared to take part in the tournament, after the players returned negative tests for coronavirus on Wednesday.

Ace India shuttler PV Sindhu cruised to the second round of the All England Open after a win over Malaysia's Soniia Cheah. Sindhu overcame the first-round challenge as she won the clash 21-11, 21-17 in 39 minutes.

Also, the Indian men's doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankirerddy progressed to the second round of the showpiece event.

( With inputs from ANI )