Coronavirus: Hong Kong players try to avoid quarantine by training in Singapore en route to Asian Championships in Manila
- Hong Kong shuttlers were forced to miss the Asian Team Championships in Manila in February because of Philippines quarantine requirements
- Lee Cheuk-yiu needs rankings points in Manila, which marks the end of the Tokyo Olympics qualifying process
Hong Kong badminton players will hope to avoid 14 days of quarantine by spending next month’s overseas training camp in Singapore before taking part in the Asia Championships (individual events) in Manila.
The April 21-26 tournament was moved to the Philippines capital from Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province, which is the epicentre of the coronavirus crisis. Even the event venue in Wuhan has been converted into a makeshift hospital.
The Hong Kong team were unable to play in the Asian Team Championships in Manila last month after Philippine authorities asked them to observe a two-week quarantine period. This meant Hong Kong are out of the Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Denmark in May because the Asian event was part of the qualifiers.
Tim He Yiming, head badminton coach at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, said he was not surprised Manila had been chosen to replace Wuhan given they staged the team tournament but he is determined to make sure Hong Kong take part this time.
“The regional championships will be the last chance to grab qualification points for the Tokyo Olympics and that’s why we have to be there,” said He. “After all, it is equivalent to a world tour 500 level tournament which offers significant world ranking points, which will be of benefit for the draw in Tokyo. Whether a player has qualified for Olympics or not, they will still want to play.”