Hyderabad: Two Austrian players have pulled out of the World Badminton Championships and quietly left the city without informing the organisers.
The players, Juargen Koch and Peter Zauner, are surmised to have feared security threat and swine flu.
A Badminton World Federation (BWF) official told IANS that the two players have indeed left Tuesday evening without giving any reason.
“We are assuming that it’s a combination of factors since they have not go in touch with us. We got to know from the team officials. It’s their call and we couldn’t have done much,” the official said on the condition of anonymity.
“At the moment we just want to concentrate on having a good tournament. It’s very difficult for the team managers to convince, if somebody wants to leave,” the official added.
Koch and Zauner Wednesday gave a walkover to sixth-seeded Danish pair Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen in the men’s doubles second round.
Another Austrian player Michael Lahnsteiner and a coach, however, preferred to stay back.
The England team had withdrawn Sunday citing security reasons and since then the security has been unprecedented.
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