In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases due to the new variant Omicron, the Indonesia badminton team has withdrawn its participation from the upcoming 2021 BWF World Championship.
The 2021 World Championship will be held in Huelva, Spain starting from December 12 to 19.
"The Indonesian badminton team has withdrawn from participating in the 2021 BWF World Championship or the 2021 World Championship which will take place in Huelva, Spain, on 12-19 December 2021," tweeted Badminton Indonesia.
"This decision was taken by the General Chairperson of PP PBSI Agung Firman Sampurna in order to maintain the safety of players after receiving input from the management, coach, and the Head of Binpres. The erratic spread of the new variant of the Omicron Covid-19 virus is the main reason," further read the tweet.
Badminton Indonesia also informed that the team will now be preparing for the tournament to be held in 2022.
"With this decision, the Indonesian team will immediately prepare to face the tournament in 2022," tweeted Badminton Indonesia.
Earlier, the Indonesian team also decided to withdraw from the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Aarhus, Denmark due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But, due to the postponement of the tournament, Indonesia participated and ended up lifting the Thomas Cup title after 19 years.
( With inputs from ANI )
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