Source:REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
[Saba Sports News] After the Paris Olympics, China’s top badminton player Chen Yufei announced that she would temporarily step away from the court and would not return before the end of October. Yesterday, Chen Yufei officially applied for ranking protection from the Badminton World Federation (BWF). According to the information available, players ranked within the top 32 in any badminton discipline can apply for ranking protection due to injury, pregnancy, or other reasons. Once granted, these players are exempt from mandatory participation requirements. The minimum duration for ranking protection is three months, and the maximum is 12 months. After 12 months, players must participate in tournaments based on their actual ranking, and the protected ranking will no longer be valid. Players cannot apply for ranking protection again within at least two years after resuming competition. After the ranking protection ends, players have the right to compete in BWF World Tour events using their protected ranking, for a period equal to the time they were granted ranking protection, but no longer than six months. The BWF has mandated that players ranked within the top 15 in singles and top 10 in doubles cannot miss World Tour 1000 and 750 events, or they will be fined $5,000. Some fans have noted that Chen Yufei’s application for ranking protection indicates she does not intend to retire but simply wants a temporary break from the badminton world to rediscover her love for the sport.