TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Badminton World Federation (BWF) president, Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen, on Sunday sent an official apology to the Indonesian Youth and Sports Minister (Menpora) following the sudden withdrawal of the Indonesian badminton team from the All England 2021 due to United Kingdom’s COVID-19 tracing that linked the Indonesian team to a suspected COVID case as the team headed to the country.

The letter, which was signed by the BWF president and shown on the Youth and Sports Ministry’s Instagram story feature, reads, “Herewith I respectfully wish to convey my regret and disappointment at the unfortunate circumstances of the past week at the YONEX All England Open 2021. I sincerely apologise for the distress and frustration caused to the players and Indonesian team.”

The BWF president wrote in the letter that he wished to share these sentiments with President Joko Widodo, the Youth and Sports Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister, the Ambassador to the United Kingdom, government officials, the people of Indonesia, and “especially the wider Indonesian badminton community and fanbase.”

The BWF president also said the organization had taken the withdrawal of the Indonesian badminton team from the All England 2021 “as a serious lesson of the new COVID-19 world” and “we endeavor to make improvements.”

Poul-Erik also believed that the relationship between Indonesian and the BWF would remain harmonious and would get even stronger in the future.

The Indonesian badminton team arrived in Indonesia on Sunday, March 21, aboard a Turkish Airlines aircraft and was able to return home quicker than the end of the quarantine period that was initially slated for March 23.

Read: All England 2021: The Chronology of Indonesia's Withdrawal

IRSYAN HASYIM (CONTRIBUTOR)