On January 17th, during the women's singles quarterfinals of the World Badminton Federation India Open, Chinese player Wang Zhiyi faced off against Japanese player Miyazaki Tomoka.
The first set started normally, with Wang Zhiyi leading 8-2. However, the situation changed dramatically as Miyazaki Tomoka caught up and eventually tied and overtook the score, winning the first set 21-16.
Surprisingly, during the break between sets, Wang Zhiyi requested to withdraw from the match to the referee.
It is worth noting that Wang Zhiyi is the sixth, sixth, and sixth Chinese player to withdraw from this India Open.
In the first round, Chen Boyang/Liu Yi, Chinese badminton team players who won the men's doubles runner-up last week at the Malaysia Open, were playing against their teammates Xie Haonan/Zeng Weihan when they suddenly withdrew after the first set reached 4-6.
In the previous round, Jia Yifan/Zhang Shuxian, who also won the women's doubles runner-up last week at the Malaysia Open, suddenly withdrew during their match against the Thai pair Chen Kangle/Tina when the first set reached 4-14.
Similarly, in the first round, Hong Kong, China player Lo Shuen Yan withdrew after finishing the first set of her match against Japanese player Ninomiya Natsuki.
This means that the rumors of a "withdrawal wave" among Chinese players at the India Open have been confirmed. Within four days, six players from one country have withdrawn, which is quite astonishing.
Withdrawing one or two players may be accidental, but if six players withdraw, there must be a certain inevitability.
According to relevant reports, the water that flows out of the tap in the hotel where the Chinese badminton team members are staying for this India Open is a dark yellow color, which seems to be untreated Ganges water. In the past, during badminton tournaments in India, there have often been cases of athletes experiencing diarrhea due to unhygienic drinking water and food. It is unknown whether the withdrawal of these six Chinese players was due to sudden "urgency" during the game.
Interestingly, so far in this India Open, many Chinese players have withdrawn, but all the withdrawals have been Chinese players, with no players from other countries withdrawing. Does this suggest that the drinking water and food of Chinese players are actually the most hygienic in their daily lives?