The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on sporting competitions around the world as many tournaments have been wither cancelled or suspended until further notice. Even after the precautions taken, many athletes have been tested positive for COVID-19 and the latest case of the virus has been reported in the Taiwanese national badminton camp. A sparring partner of the team was tested positive and Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has expressed her shock over this news. Saina Nehwal Slams All England Open Organisers, Says ‘Money Was Given Importance Over Players’ Welfare’.

Danish Badminton player HK Vittinghus shared a Taiwanese report where a 10-year-old sports student, who was at the All England Championship with the squad, has been diagnosed for COVID-19. Reports suggest that the youngster was a sparring partner of the badminton team and travelled with the squad during the Barcelona Masters and also during their training camp in Germany before the All England Open.  Parupalli Kashyap Tweets to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan from 2020 All England Open

Saina's Reaction

Indian stars PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Prupallki Kashyap also took part in the tournament which took place from March 11 to 15. Shuttlers such as HS Prannoy, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy had pulled out of the Championship due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Saina Nehwal was knocked out in the very first round of the women’s singles category while Ashwini Ponnappa who was partnered by Sikki Reddy bowed out of the tournament in the second round of the women’s doubles category. PV Sindhu made it to the quarter-finals of the competition before being defeated by Nozomi Okahura.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 21, 2020 04:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).