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(Reuters) – South Korea and Indonesia have withdrawn from next month’s Thomas and Uber Cup finals in Denmark, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in a statement on Saturday.
The two countries join Australia, Taiwan and Thailand in skipping the tournament from October 3-11 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Badminton Association of Indonesia (PBSI) said it was concerned that players could contract COVID-19 during the tournament.
PBSI also confirmed that its players would not participate in the Danish Open and the Danish Masters scheduled for October.
Indonesia has won the men’s Thomas Cup a record 13 times and the women’s Uber Cup three times.
Thailand announced its retirement earlier this week, citing injuries and other COVID-19-related issues.
Team replacements have yet to be announced.
The Thomas and Uber Cup, originally scheduled for May, had been postponed to August due to the pandemic before moving to the new dates when the Danish government extended its ban on large gatherings.
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; edited by Kim Coghill)
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