'Should not be put in this position': Shuttlers HK Vittinghus, Saina Nehwal, others slam BWF amid coronavirus outbreak

While many sporting bodies are either playing behind a closed door or have postponed the tournaments, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) is somehow keeping the events on.

Top shuttlers from across the world have now hit out at BWF for taking the novel coronavirus outbreak “too lightly” and putting them at “risk”.

International stars, including Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth have expressed their concerns.

I honestly don’t get it!  We should not be traveling the world playing badminton. Text is copied from my Facebook page. #badminton #corona #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/VkhyPtMnSQ

— HK Vittinghus (@hkvittinghus) March 12, 2020

Ex-top 10 player Hans-Kristian Vittinghus even put out a statement asking the BWF to suspend all its upcoming tournaments.

“I honestly don’t get it! We should not be travelling the world playing badminton,” Denmark’s Vittinghus said in a post which he has shared on his social media accounts.

All England going on today (with spectators) so is Swiss Open, India Open and Malaysia Open the following weeks - @bwfmedia .........?

— Jan Ø. Jørgensen (@janojorgensen) March 13, 2020

The former World No. 8 has urged the BWF to follow other sporting federations in suspending the events.

Vittinghus wrote: “With some tournaments being played, while others are being cancelled, and the Olympic qualifying year still ongoing, players are left with choices between risking not only their own health but also the health of the ones around them.

“... or giving up on tournaments, that others choose to play, risking to lose out on not only the Olympics but also ranking spots that gives access to all the other big events. We should not be put in this position.” 

Vittinghus’s post was retweeted by the likes of Saina, Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and HS Prannoy. Spanish national coach Fernando Rivas also shared it on his timeline.

Things to be done by @bwfmedia 1)Suspend all tournaments immediately 2)Freeze the current ranking and decide on qualification on a later date .

— Parupalli Kashyap (@parupallik) March 13, 2020

“I don't get it too @bwfmedia #CoronavirusPandemic,” tweeted Saina, a former World No. 1, who is currently in Birmingham for the All England Championships.