Covid-19 continues to hit Thailand Open, but Hong Kong’s Angus Ng safely through to second round
- An Indian player tests positive and is sent to hospital, while hotel roommate is in strict self-quarantine
- Both players have been withdrawn from Bangkok’s second tournament of three back-to-back series in accordance with BWF protocols
Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka-long won his first-round match in men’s singles relatively comfortably at the Toyota Thailand Open, but there was a certain unease at the tournament after an Indian player became the latest to test positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
Despite a runner-up finish in the first Bangkok tournament last weekend, the Hong Kong number one was stretched in his opening game at Impact Arena by Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen, the 2019 World Championships bronze medallist. The home player reached game point first at 20-19 before Ng fought back to win three points in a row to take the opener 22-20. Ng upped the tempo in the next game, wrapping it up 21-12 for a straight-game victory.
“Ng is a more experienced player now and would not lose his game plan easily even if he is under difficult conditions,” said Hong Kong head coach Tim He Yiming. “He did a good job hanging in there in the first game and was dominant in the next game when his opponent seemed to have lost the tempo.”
Drawn into the bottom half of the table, Ng would need to clear tough hurdles if he wants to reach his second successive final with second seed Chou Tien-Chen, of Taiwan, and Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen – champion of the first tournament in Bangkok – standing in his way.
Hong Kong’s Angus Ng bolsters his World Tour finals bid
In mixed doubles, Hong Kong’s Chang Tak-shing and Ng Wing-yung were stopped in their tracks in a first-round loss (21-12, 18-21, 21-14) to Canada’s Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Josephine Wu.
Earlier, Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed Indian player, Sai Praneeth B, had tested positive for Covid-19 and had been withdrawn from the HK$7.8 million tournament. The player produced a positive result in a mandatory PCR test conducted on Monday and was taken to hospital for further observation and testing.
He would be required to stay in hospital for a minimum of 10 days.
His hotel roommate, Srikanth Kidambi, also withdrew from the tournament and is in strict self-quarantine in accordance with BWF protocols. However, Kidambi tested negative on Monday and has returned negative results since arriving in Thailand. The former world number one completed his first-round match on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over Sitthikom Thammasin, of Thailand, but will have to forfeit his second-round match against Denmark’s Anders Antonsen.
Hong Kong shuttlers will pull out of Thailand Open if they think it’s unsafe, says coach
Daily testing protocols have been implemented by authorities, including restricting the movement and schedule of the rest of the India team as per tournament protocol. But they have cleared other India players to continue competing in the tournament upon producing a negative test result each day.
Last week, a German coach and a team entourage member from France also tested positive for the virus after an Egyptian player, Adham Hatem Elgamal, was sent to hospital for the same reason despite a health “bubble” being set up by authorities to ensure the safety of participants.
