Thomas & Uber Cup take a blow as more teams quit

The championship trophies of Thomas Cup (R) and Uber Cup. /VCG

Indonesia announced on Friday that their national badminton teams quitted the coming Thomas & Uber Cup in Denmark.

"There are three main reasons as to why the team have come to this decision. Firstly, from the start, the players were not too keen as they were worried about being infected by COVID-19, be it when traveling, in transit, or during the tournament," said the Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI).

"Secondly, the players and officials were skeptical because the BWF could not guarantee that nobody will be affected by the coronavirus. They were not willing to take on that responsibility."

"Finally, after much deliberation by the PBSI, including chairman, Wiranto, deputy chairman, Alex Tirta, secretary general, Achmad Budiharto, and high performance director, Susi Susanti, the Indonesian squad have decided to withdraw from the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals."

Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in semifinals match of the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, May 25, 2018. /VCG

The Indonesian men's team have won the Thomas Cup championship 13 times and were the No. 1 seed in this year's event. Their women's team won the Uber Cup three times and were not to be underestimated either.

However, none of the above matters anymore since neither team will attend the top badminton competitions between October 3 and 11 in Aarhus.

Indonesia was not the only team that pulled out of Thomas & Uber Cups this year. South Korea, Australia, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and Russia made the same decision earlier.

Lee Jang-mi of South Korea in the quarterfinals match of the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup at Impact Arena, May 24, 2018. /VCG

"The Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm yesterday's decisions by the Badminton Korea Association and the Badminton Association of Indonesia to withdraw their teams from the TOTAL BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals 2020 in Aarhus, Denmark," said the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in a statement.

"Badminton Association of Thailand cited special circumstances related to Covid-19 in addition to injuries to key players in making the decision."

Gao Fangjie of China in the semifinals match of the BWF Thomas & Uber Cup at Impact Arena, May 25, 2018. /VCG

No replacements for the latest withdrawal have been announced, but considering that China's Hong Kong already turned it down earlier, it may not be easy to find new teams willing to go to Denmark for the contest.

The other major champions candidate China has not decided whether to attend this year's Thomas & Uber Cup or not.