Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm that seven players have been withdrawn from the YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2022 after testing positive for COVID-19.

The players returned a positive result to a mandatory RT-PCR test conducted on Tuesday. Doubles  partners deemed close contact of the seven players have also been withdrawn from the tournament.

The seven players are Kidambi Srikanth, Ashwini Ponappa, Ritika Rahul Thaker, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singhi and Khushi Gupta.

The players will not be replaced in the main draw and their opponents will be given a walkover to the next round.

Testing protocols have been implemented in accordance with Badminton World Federation and Badminton Association of India guidelines to ensure the health and safety of all participants.

Round two of the tournament commences today.

Meanwhile, in a recent development, BAI confirmed that Indian shuttler Sameer Verma was forced to withdraw from the India Open 2022 due to a calf strain injury.