COVID forces hosts India out of Women’s Asian Cup

• Now India team would be considered withdrawn from the tournament.
• AFC says appropriate medical care is being provided to the infected players. 
• On Sunday, men’s singles final of the badminton tournament was called off due to COVID.

Mumbai: India were forced to withdraw from the Women’s Asian Cup currently under way in Mumbai after a COVID-19 outbreak left the side unable to field a full side on Sunday.

The hosts were due to take the field against Taiwan for the second of their three group games, but positive tests left them unable to name the required 13 players.

As a result India would be considered withdrawn from the tournament, which will otherwise continue as scheduled, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said in a statement.

“Appropriate medical care is being provided to the infected players and the AFC wishes them a full and speedy recovery,” the statement added.

The Women’s Asian Cup is the latest of several Indian sporting events derailed by the country’s ongoing Omicron variant outbreak.

Elsewhere on Sunday the men’s singles final of the Syed Modi International badminton tournament was called off in Lucknow after one of the competitors tested positive for the virus.

A week earlier the India Open badminton competition was hit by a number of withdrawals including men’s top seed Kidambi Srikanth.