Taiwanese Olympic gold medalists Lee Yang (??) and Wang Chi-lin (???) withdrew from the upcoming Malaysia Masters badminton tournament this week after testing positive for COVID-19, according to their agent on Monday.

The world men’s doubles No. 4 Lee and Yang were confirmed as having COVID-19 in Malaysia where they just competed in the Malaysia Open, held between June 28 and July 3, according to their agent.

The organizers of the Malaysia Masters have been told of the Taiwanese duo’s situation and that they will withdraw from the tournament, slated for July 5-10, the agent said.

Speaking about their physical condition, the agent said both men are experiencing a “slight fever and sore throat.”

Lee and Yang crashed out of the Malaysia Open after a second round 17-21, 18-21 defeat at the hands of Malaysian pairing Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi on June 30.

They were also knocked out in the second round of the Indonesia Open in May after making it into the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters that same month.

The Taiwanese duo reached the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open in May after competing in the Thomas Cup for Taiwan, which did not make it past Round 1 in the knock-out stage.

Despite a lackluster campaign this season, the duo had a very good year in 2021, when they won Taiwan’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in badminton at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

They also clinched the men’s doubles title at two Super 1000 Thailand Open tournaments in Bangkok in January 2021 and the BWF World Tour Finals the same month.

In December 2021, they were named by the Badminton World Federation as the most improved players of the year.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel