Seven Indian badminton players have pulled out of next week's All England Open championships over coronavirus fears, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) said, as the outbreak continues to disrupt sport events across the world.

A number of international sporting events have been cancelled or postponed because of the outbreak.

H S Prannoy, Sameer Verma and Sourabh Verma are the men's singles players who have decided to withdraw while doubles specialists Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy have also opted out.

"They didn't want to take a risk and some of them said their families and parents are worried with the current situation," BAI general secretary Ajay Singhania said.

"It's completely up to the players to decide if they want to travel."

Several badminton events that were to serve as qualifiers for the Olympics have been cancelled or postponed.

The March 11 to 15 tournament in Birmingham will award points towards securing Tokyo spots.

The top 16 singles players in the qualification race, limited to two athletes from any country, are guaranteed spots in the Tokyo Games, which begin on July 24.

Leading Indian women's singles players P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal - both previous Olympic medallists - are making the trip to England, as are their male counterparts Kidambi Srikanth and B. Sai Praneeth.

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