Kuala Lumpur: The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) has confirmed that eight more players from the Malaysian badminton national team were tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 14 cases for players who stayed at the Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM).
Five out of six shuttlers who were tested positive for COVID-19 last week stayed at the premises. ABM was forced to shut down to undergone a detailed and thorough sanitization last Friday.
The Secretary-General of BAM, Kenny Goh said the association had taken immediate action including isolating those who were believed to be close contacts.
“The Ministry of Health is still in the process of identifying the cause of the eight players being infected but believes it is related to six cases reported previously,” said Goh.
“All eight infected players have been sent to the COVID-19 treatment center to undergo quarantine,” added Goh.
Goh, however, did not reveal the identities of those eight players but said that the incident did not involve players in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, including reigning All England champion Lee Zii Jia and World No. 9 men’s doubles pair – Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik.
Following the increase in COVID-19 cases involving BAM players, the organization has decided to continue postponing the training sessions for both the senior and youth squads until it is completely safe for them to return to training.
“All the players will undergo a COVID-19 test again tomorrow. We will wait for the results before deciding when the training will be resumed,” explained Goh.
“However, BAM expects the players to return to training next Tuesday,” continued Goh.
