Whether September’s Yonex Taipei Open badminton tournament is to go ahead has been thrown into doubt, with international players expressing reluctance to travel due to Taiwan’s quarantine regulations, governing body the CTBA said yesterday.
Doubts about participating in the tournament were raised by international players when they realized that regulations mandate all incoming overseas players would be required to stay in Taiwan for 14 days before they can leave the nation, regardless of how well they perform in the tournament, CTBA deputy director Chen Shih-chieh said.
The Central Epidemic Command Center’s regulations state that international players would initially have to stay at a quarantine hotel in Taoyuan for five days before being tested for COVID-19, Chen said.
Should the result come back negative, the player would be allowed to compete in the tournament, but would need to stay for 14 days, when they would be tested again, and would only allowed to leave if the result remained negative, Chen added.
“This has raised a lot of concerns from international players, as they cannot choose to leave if they happen to lose or drop out of the tournament,” Chen told the Central News Agency.
Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) general secretary Dato’ Kenny Goh Chee Keong on Saturday said that the association would not send a team if Taiwan enforces a “two-week mandatory quarantine” for overseas players.
Malaysian mixed doubles pairing Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying, who are ranked seventh in the world and were semi-finalists in Taipei last year, have expressed their support for the decision.
“Our stand is the same as the BAM. If we are needed to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival, then most likely we are not going,” Peng Soon told Malaysian English-language newspaper the Star on Sunday.
In Taipei, the Sports Administration said it was “understandable” that overseas players are hesitant about competing in the tournament, as many major sporting events have been canceled or postponed due to the pandemic.
The Gwangju Korea Masters, originally scheduled for Nov. 24 to Nov. 29, is the latest World Tour tournament to have been canceled, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said.
The CTBA is inclined to cancel this year’s tournament, while the BWF has asked the association to postpone the event, a source familiar with the matter said.
The Sports Administration said that the CTBA and BWF are still holding talks on the matter.
The BWF Super 300 Yonex Taipei Open is scheduled to be held from Sept. 1 to Sept. 6 at the Taipei Arena.
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