Former India badminton coach Vimal Kumar on Tuesday blamed the withdrawals by Asian nations for the postponement of the Thomas and Uber Cup Final, calling it a "big setback" for the sport. The prestigious men's and women's team event was postponed to next year by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) following a wave of pullouts by top teams, mainly from Asia, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "What Asian nations have done, it is really disappointing. There are no major issues in these countries, they are having local events there, so to pull out in this way, is a big setback for the sport," Vimal told PTI.

The event, which was to mark the resumption of international badminton after the coronavirus-forced break, was scheduled to be held in Aarhus, Denmark from October 3 to 11. India had announced both the men's and women's squads for the event. However, after Indonesia and South Korea on Friday joined Thailand, Australia, Chinese Taipei and Algeria in pulling out due to the dreaded disease, the BWF decided to push the event to next year.