No surprise as Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Denmark postponed for the third time
- Badminton World Federation decision comes after a series of withdrawals from participating teams due to concerns over the pandemic
- Hong Kong has also declined an invitation as a ‘reserve’ team to compete in the biennial tournament
Hong Kong badminton head coach Tim He Yiming says he’s not surprised the Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Denmark have been pushed back for the third time due to pandemic outbreak.
In an announcement made on Tuesday, the Badminton World Federation said after having consultation with local host Badminton Denmark, they have to make the “tough decision” to
postpone the two events slated for October 3-11 in Aarhus. Organisers are looking into possible alternative dates to reschedule the tournament, but it is understood that it will not be before 2021.
The decision comes following the withdrawal of a number of participating teams namely Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia while Hong Kong also declined an invitation to compete as a reserve.
“These days safety always comes first as the pandemic is still a serious problem in many countries,” said the Sports Institute coach. “No one wants to take the risk of sending their players to events under these circumstances. That’s one of the reasons we decided not to take up the offer as a reserve [team].