COVID-19: BAI office to shut down from March 23

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Friday announced that it will be shutting down its office from March 23 in wake of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement, BAI said: "In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and the advisories issued by the Sports Ministry and Government of India guidelines for safety measures; Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided to shut down their office from March 23, 2020.

"After accessing the situations and discussions with various stake holders, it was observed as the best solution and health and well-being of our staff is of prime importance for BAI," said Ajay K Singhania, General Secretary, BAI.

He added that the situation will be further reviewed after March 31. The BAI also instructed all its staff members to work from home and only in cases of absolute emergency they may go to office.

Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) had also shut down their offices in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak which has so far claimed four lives in the country.

The Sports Ministry has already advised National Sports Federations (NSFs) to suspend all sports events, including competitions or selections trials, until April 15.