The Badminton World Federation  (BWF) announced on Thursday that at least seven Indian players had tested positive for COVID-19, leading to their withdrawal from the India Open tournament.

“The players returned a positive result to a mandatory RT-PCR test conducted on Tuesday. Doubles partners deemed close contact of the seven players have also been withdrawn from the tournament. The players will not be replaced in the main draw and their opponents will be given a walkover to the next round,” the BWF said in a statement. 

These players include – Kidambi Srikanth Nammalwar, Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thakkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singh, Khushi Gupta, according to a report by The Hindustan Times.

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B Sai Praneeth, the 2019 world championship bronze medallist, double specialists Manu Attri and Dhruv Rawat had earlier tested positive for COVID ahead of their departure for the national capital and had pulled out before the start of the tournament, reported PTI. 

The tournament, organised by the Badminton Association of India, is being held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium’s KD Jadhav Indoor Hall, New Delhi.

It commenced on January 11, and the second round starts today.

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World champion Loh Kean Yew, three-time men’s doubles world champion Mohammad Ahsan, and Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan are competing in the game, which is being hosted for the first time in three years following the cancellation of the last two editions due to the pandemic.

The entire England badminton contingent had also pulled out ahead of the event after the country’s doubles specialist Sean Vendy and coach Nathan Robertson tested positive for the virus, reported PTI.

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According to the COVID protocols, all players are being tested daily at the hotel as well as outside the stadium. These protocols are in tandem with the Badminton World Federation and Badminton Association of India guidelines. 

(With inputs from PTI)