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.
By the time Cameron Menzies finally left the arena on Monday, the blood gushing from the gash on his right hand had trickled down his wrist, part of his forearm and — somehow — up to his face. Smeared in crimson and regret, and already mouthing sheepish apologies to the crowd, he disappeared down the steps, pursued by a stern-looking Matt Porter, the chief executive of Professional Darts Corp (PDC). The physical scars from Menzies’ encounter with the Alexandra Palace drinks table after his 3-2 defeat against Charlie Manby at the Darts World Championship would be gone within a few weeks.
Manchester United on Monday blew the lead three times to miss out on moving up to fifth in the Premier League as AFC Bournemouth would not be beaten in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford. United have lost just once in their past 10 games, but Ruben Amorim would be frustrated as more points at home were frittered away despite arguably the best attacking display of his reign in charge. Amad Diallo and Casemiro gave the hosts a halftime lead either side of Antoine Semenyo’s equalizer. Two Bournemouth goals from Evanilson and Marcus Tavernier in seven minutes at the start of the
LOW-GOAL SHOOT-OUT: Of the nine penalties in the shoot-out, only three went in, with Flamengo’s Samuel Lino, and Vitinha and Nuno Mendes of PSG netting Matvei Safonov on Wednesday made four straight penalty saves in a penalty shoot-out to help Paris Saint-Germain beat Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup final and win a sixth trophy of the year. The Russian goalkeeper was thrown in the air by his teammates after his exploits in the shoot-out, which was won 2-1 by PSG after a 1-1 draw after extra-time. It completed a trophy-laden 12 months for the French team, who had already won the Trophee des Champions, Ligue 1, the Coupe de France, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup — also on penalties against Tottenham Hotspur in
LACKLUSTER FIGHT: At one stage, the referee lost patience with the two fighters, warning them in the fourth round that ‘the fans did not pay to see this crap’ Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Friday knocked out YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in their controversial Netflix-backed bout in Miami. The fight at the Kaseya Center, which saw both men reportedly splitting a mammoth purse of US$184 million, had triggered alarm across boxing due to the gulf in physical size and class between Britain’s two-time former world champion Joshua and Paul, an Internet personality who has forged a lucrative career through a handful of novelty boxing contests. However, in the event, Joshua made hard work of defeating his vastly less accomplished opponent, before his superior size and power eventually told
RSS