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Badminton joins SportAccord exodus over IOC attack

REUTERS - Badminton has severed ties with SportAccord, adding its name to a fast-growing exodus of sports abandoning the umbrella organisation following a scathing attack by its chief on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). "The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has suspended its membership of SportAccord with immediate effect until further notice," the BWF said in a statement on Monday. "It follows BWF's strong disagreement with (SportAccord president Marius) Vizer's comments about the International Olympic Committee and IOC president Thomas Bach at the annual SportAccord Convention last month." Vizer, who also heads the judo federation, accused the IOC of a lack of transparency, blocking the creation of new sports events and being a dated organisation that did little for international federations. Since then, at least 19 Olympic federations have withdrawn their membership of the organisation representing about 100 sports bodies and Vizer has been told he cannot represent the Association of Summer Olympic Federations anymore. The row has also prompted Peru's Olympic Committee to pull out of hosting the 2017 World Combat Games. BWF said it was one of the federations to immediately distance themselves from Vizer's position by signing a collective statement opposing his remarks which did not "reflect the views of the international federations". In its letter to the Austrian, the BWF also noted Vizer's more recent comments and said: "BWF is not aligned with the opinions and vision of SportAccord and you as the president of the organisation." (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by John O'Brien)