Three top singles contenders for the world title – Viktor Axelsen (Denmark), Shi Yu Qi (China) and Carolina Marin (Spain) – have pulled out of the TOTAL BWF World Championships 2019 due to injury.

The three separately announced their withdrawals in the days leading up to today’s draw.

Marin and Shi’s decisions were conveyed to BWF over the weekend. Marin announced on her official social media page that she had been unable to recover fully in time from the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to her right knee that she suffered at the Indonesia Masters in January.

“My team and I have decided that we aren’t going to play the World Championships because we are very short of time. The recovery is going well… so we will wait till the tournaments of September,” Marin said in a video message to her fans.

Both Axelsen and Marin are winners of the World Championships. Axelsen won the title in 2017; Marin is a three-time champion and the current holder.

Another top contender for the men’s singles crown, Shi Yu Qi, suffered a left ankle injury at the Indonesia Open last month and has not been able to recover in time for Basel. Shi was runner-up to Kento Momota at the last World Championships in Nanjing.

Last week, Axelsen cited a disc protrusion in his lower back that was leading to pain in his back and legs.

“The World Championships is the biggest event of the year and I had obviously been looking forward to playing. I’ve done everything I could to get ready for the World Championships, but I must also be realistic and listen to my body and to the doctors’ advice,” Axelsen said, according to a Badminton Denmark statement.