LOCAL independent players are calling for the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to come up with a fair solution to the Olympic qualifying process.
On Friday, mixed doubles shuttlers Goh Liu Ying and Shevon Lai took to social media, expressing their dissatisfaction against European players who can still collect Olympic ranking points from the European Championships in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The duo feel it is unfair towards Asian players who cannot do the same as the Badminton Asia Championships (BAC), originally scheduled in China last month, was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apart from the BAC, the German Open and India Open were also called off.
The cut-off date for Olympic qualification is on June 15, with the Singapore Open on June 1-6 being the last tournament to offer points for the Tokyo Games.
"During the Olympic qualification period, every tournament is crucial for players fighting for points.
"Now the European Championships is ongoing and contributes to the Olympic qualification scoring, but the Asian Championships is postponed.
"This means the Europeans have an extra tournament opportunity to gain more points.
"How is this fair to the Asian players who are also fighting for Olympic points? We hope the BWF can look into this and have a better solution to be fair to the players," both Liu Ying and Shevon posted on Instagram.
Liu Ying and partner, Chan Peng Soon, have virtually booked their spot in July's Tokyo Games, but their No 7 ranking on the Race to Tokyo list could still be affected by the outcome of the European Championships.
A country is allowed a maximum of two pairs, provided both are in the top eight by the end of the qualifying period.
The pairs still fighting for the top-eight spot are Indonesia's Hafiz Faizal-Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja (No 8), Hong Kong's Tang Chun Man-Tse Ying Suet (No 9), England's Marcus Ellis-Lauren Smith (No 10) and Goh Soon Huat-Shevon (No 11).
"This unfairness does not affect Peng Soon and me as much, but it does more for Soon Huat-Shevon.
"Should Marcus-Lauren win the European Championships, they will overtake us," Liu Ying lamented.
As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc worldwide, especially in Asia, it remains to be seen if the Malaysia Open (May 25-30) and Singapore Open will even take place.
"I realised this last week, but I didn't know how to bring it to attention. I really hope something can be done for us all," Shevon said when contacted.