Tag: badminton ndtv sports

[ad_1] Image for representative use© BWFBadminton's governing body paved the way Wednesday for Russian and Belarusian players to return to competition as neutrals after they were banned over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. It comes with the Paris Olympics just over a year away and sports federations grappling with what to do about athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus. Badminton World Federation (BWF) barred Russian and Belarusian players in March last year and in April extended the ban as Moscow's assault on Ukraine stretched into a second year.But on Wednesday the BWF said it had commissioned "a regulative and operational framework to allow athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to compete as individual neutral athletes"."BWF council will then deliberate on the merits of the ...

[ad_1] File image of Chen Long© AFPChinese badminton great Chen Long has announced his retirement aged 34, ending a decorated career that included Olympic gold and two world titles. The former world number one won the Olympic crown at Rio 2016 and followed it up with silver at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He has not played since and has now officially called it quits, following in the steps of legendary Chinese player and teammate Lin Dan, who retired in 2020."This is a difficult moment for me. It's so hard to say goodbye," Chen wrote on the Twitter-like Weibo late Friday."At this special moment, I'm really full of emotion. I want to say thank you to the Chinese badminton team, my family and the fans."Badminton is the love of my life. I was lucky enough to wear the nation...