Time to get the sport going, not play the blame game
IT was 2009. And midnight. I had just arrived in Hyderabad for the World Badminton Championships.
There was time for just a few winks at the hotel. I woke up early and looked at the newspaper.
What I saw was beyond shocking. The headline screamed “World Championships under terrorist attack threat.”
Everyone was panicking.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF), though, stayed calm.
They gave an assurance that there was nothing to fear (after an emergency meeting with the Indian police) and promised security would be tightened as a precaution.
All 16 teams decided to stay put, except England.
Worried for their lives, the English team packed their bags and scurried home a day before the opening round.
No one blamed the English. No one either laughed at them or chided them the cowards. They had taken the threat seriously and everyone had to respect that.
However, their fears were unfounded.
There was no terrorist attack at the world meet or any part of India during that time and the meet went on smoothly except for the inconsistent Internet connections, with China sweeping four titles through Lin Dan (men’s singles), Lu Lan (women’s singles), Fu Haifeng-Cai Yun (men’s doubles), Zhang Yawen-Zhao Tingting (women’s doubles) and Denmark taking one via Thomas Laybourn-Kamilla Rytter Juhl (mixed doubles).
Now, 11 years later, we are facing a similar situation.
Only this time, the “terrorist” is an invisible enemy.
The concerns are over a life threatening virus – Covid-19 – that has forced several countries to pull out from the Thomas-Uber Cup Finals, slated in Aarhus, Denmark, from Oct 3-11.
Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia are all staying home for safety reasons. Russia withdrew even earlier.
Top seeded Indonesia’s withdrawal, however, made all the difference. The BWF had no choice but to postpone the Finals.
That decision, however, has drawn flak from many who have vented their frustrations on social media platforms.
After all, it’s the third time the Finals have been called off and postponed this year.
Some claim the Asian teams should not have withdrawn as the hosts had invested time and money in assuring the safety of the players.
Denmark’s second-ranked singles player Anders Antonsen questioned why they had to wait again. He felt the Finals should go on with the teams still in the reckoning.
“Whoever attends, attends. Otherwise, the sport will wither away and die.”
Former Danish star Mathias Boe even took a dig at the world body, questioning their ability to host events: “Other sports started months back. Maybe, it’s time that some of the ‘important BWF guys’ step down and then leave the show to someone who can actually run it.”
Others even claimed the top Asian nations should be blamed for the “mess” now.
The frustration of these disgruntled voices is understandable.
But the blame game has to stop.
It’s unfair to pin the blame on the countries that have decided to put the safety of their players first.
It’s even more dangerous to play the Asian versus European card. Some have questioned whether the European teams would fly to Asia for the Finals if it was held in this part of the world?
Sport unites and it never should divide.
One has to respect the decisions of others – especially under these circumstances.
One thing, though. I would agree with those who questioned the world body’s role in this.
They’ve been rather slow in reacting to the issues relating to Covid-19 compared to other major sports associations. There has been little urgency on or-on-the-ball reaction like back in 2009.
Recently, their website released a press statement on president Poul-Erik Hoyer’s confession about his Parkinson’s disease and assurance that he can still run the association.
There really are more pressing matters to address.
When Indonesia and South Korea withdrew from the Finals, there were just two paragraphs on the website saying the teams had pulled out.
No assurances. No immediate plans, the players and other stakeholders had expected more.
It was a feeble reaction. One that left everyone frustrated.
More tests await BWF now when they relaunch their season with the Denmark Open from Oct 13-18, the first tournament since March after the All-England.
The plan was for the Thomas-Uber Cup players to stay on for the tournament which will be run under strict safety protocols.
The success of the tournament will determine how soon the world body can restart their engine in hosting tournaments under similar standard operating procedures.
More importantly, it will be a platform to redeem their battered image. Or not.
The writer, like many, misses the badminton actions. She hopes the situation will improve and with better safety measures, players from all over the world will get to play without any worries.
