'Continued uncertainty'

World Badminton Champs called off due to SARS

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -- The World Badminton Championships were called off Wednesday due to "continued uncertainty" surrounding the SARS virus.

The International Badminton Federation postponed the event, scheduled for May 12-18 at the Birmingham Indoor Arena, after a meeting of its executive board.

It's the first major sporting event outside Asia to be postponed because of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Nearly 350 players from 48 countries had been scheduled to attend.

The tournament serves as the main qualifying event for next year's Athens Olympics.

Asian players make up the power base of the Olympic sport. China, a dominant force in the sport, was planning to send a 40-person delegation.

"It's extremely regrettable that the World Championships has had to be called off at this late stage," IBF chief executive Neil Cameron said.

"The Executive Board clearly felt that this is the proper decision to take, because they were concerned that there would still be a risk to everyone involved, and because of their and others' continued fears regarding SARS."

The IBF said several countries had "reluctance or inability" to send players.

"Considering that the world championships environment would result in many close contact situations between players, officials and volunteers, a majority of the IBF Executive Board felt on balance that a postponement was the responsible decision," the IBF said.

Tournament sponsor QI Ltd also requested a postponement.

"This is despite the costs that will undoubtedly arise for IBF and many of its members," Cameron said. "This is primarily a health issue, and that must come first."

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has infected more than 5,300 people worldwide. More than 350 people have died, with at least 148 deaths in China since November. No deaths from SARS have been reported in Britain.

The IBF will hold an executive board meeting as soon as possible to consider when to reschedule the championships.

Meanwhile, the World Table Tennis Championships are set to go ahead as planned in Paris from May 19-25. Table tennis is another Olympic sport dominated by Asia, with 600 male and female players from 120 nations scheduled to attend.

"The games are set to take place as scheduled. The China team has given its accord and have been training in seclusion outside of Beijing," said Peter Jensen, spokesman for the ITTF.

Many sporting events in Asia have been canceled or postponed because of SARS and fears have also spread to Europe.

Recently, Aston Villa and Everton in England canceled postseason tours to Asia, with a tour by Germany's Bayern Munich also in doubt. Portugal withdrew from two friendly matches in South Korea and Japan scheduled for June.

Chinese runners Sun Yingjie and Jin-Li were asked to withdraw from the April 13 Rotterdam marathon to allay potential unease among athletes competing in the race.

Last week, Denmark and Netherlands canceled friendly rugby union tours by Hong Kong scheduled for May because of the threat of SARS.

 

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