BWF should cancel all events, says Parupalli Kashyap amid coronavirus outbreak

As the concern regarding coronavirus is growing by the minute, shuttler Parupalli Kashyap on Friday said that Badminton World Federation (BWF) should cancel all the events to ensure the safety of the players.

When ANI contacted Kashyap for his take on the issue, the shuttler replied: "Yes, the events should be cancelled. I don't think we get to make a choice, whatever is the guideline we have to follow, BWF needs to take a stand instead of leaving it to local authorities".

The shuttler did not mince his words and also went on to say that the BWF is just waiting for someone to get infected.

"I think they are waiting for players to get infected. It is just ridiculous. They should have cancelled events already".

In the wake of Health Ministry's new advisory related to COVID-19, Indian badminton stars such as Parupalli Kashyap, Saina Nehwal have been put under dark and are left searching for answers.

Both Nehwal and Kashyap have been knocked out from the ongoing All England Championships. But their return to India now hangs in the balance.

The Health Ministry on Wednesday issued a new advisory related to COVID-19, saying "All incoming travelers, including Indians, arriving from or having visited China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain & Germany after 15th February 2020 shall be quarantined for a minimum period of 14 days".

These badminton stars took part in the Barcelona Open in February this year, and now their return to India has come under a cloud.

If the health ministry's advisory is put in place, Nehwal and Kashyap will be quarantined for two weeks and this will result in a severe blow to their Olympics hopes.

World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday had declared the coronavirus outbreak a 'pandemic' and expressed deep concern.

The coronavirus disease was first detected in Wuhan in China's Hubei province, in late December, and has since spread worldwide.

More than 127,000 people have been infected with COVID-19, with over 4,700 having died and 68,000 recovered.