KUALA LUMPUR, 7 April 2020:
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has postponed all tournaments including grade two and three competitions from May to July due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
BWF said in a statement yesterday the decision was reached after consulting the host countries and also the continental confederations.
“The escalation of the Covid-19 pandemic globally has led all parties to confirm the suspension of these tournaments. The health, safety and wellbeing of all athletes, their entourage, officials and the greater badminton community remain the top priority.”
Last week, BWF decided to freeze the World Rankings and also World Junior Rankings backdated to March 17 until further notice due to the pandemic.
The world governing body also revealed it is reviewing the impacts of the rescheduling of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games upon the Olympic and Paralympic qualification system.
The grade two meets which are affected by the postponement are the Crown Group Australian Open, slated to be held from June 2-7, Toyota Thailand Open (June 9-14), Blibli Indonesia Open (June 16-21) and also the Russian Open (July 7-12).
The tournaments under grade three which are postponed are the Li-Ning Denmark Challenge which would be held from May 7-10, FZ Forza Slovenia International (May 13-16), Yonex Latvia International (May 28-31), Ciputra Hanoi– Yonex Sunrise Vietnam International Challenge (June 2-7).
Other affected tournaments are RSL Lithuanian International (June 4-7), Canada Para Badminton International (June 9-14), Russian International Junior White Nights (June 25-28), White Nights (July 1-5) and also the All-England Junior Badminton Championships (July 16-19).
– Bernama