TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The news about the sudden withdrawal of the Indonesian national badminton team from the All England 2021 surprised many, notably the Indonesian public. It had motivated an official protest to be handed to the event organizer and authorities where the venue is held.

The Indonesian badminton team was booted out from the game after the group were reportedly inside the same flight with another passenger who was said to have tested positive for Covid-19.

Out of 24 Indonesian athletes, 20 of them were asked by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) to an immediate 10-day self-quarantine.

The Indonesian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Desra Percaya, on Thursday, March 18, warned Britain’s authorities to not discriminate, stop unfair treatments, and be utterly transparent about the issue.

Meanwhile, chief of the Indonesian badminton team competing in the All England 2021, Ricky Soebagdja, said that this incident was surprising and very much hurt the athletes involved.

Here is the brief chronology of Indonesia’s withdrawal by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) according to Ricky:

March 12: The 24-athlete team from Indonesia made a transit in Istanbul, Turkey before flying to Birmingham in the UK where the All England 2021 is held.

March 13: The team arrived in Birmingham and immediately conducted Covid-19 PCR tests.

March 14: The PCR results were out, clearing the team to continue their training as they all tested negative for Covid-19.

March 17: The competition was postponed by organizers after tests for a number of athletes from Denmark, Thailand, and India indicated they might be Covid-19 positive. The badminton competition started at 2 p.m. instead of the scheduled morning.

A number of Indonesian athletes had competed in the first round with Marcus/Kevin, Hendra/Ahsan, and Jonatan Christie progressing to the second rounds.

Not long after, 20 of the 24 Indonesian badminton team members received emails from the NHS mandating them to conduct self isolation for 10-days up to March 23.

Read: Sports Minister Reacts to Indonesia's Withdrawal from All England 2021

TEMPO.CO | SUCI SEKARWATI