The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has taken the necessary step to suspend all HSBC BWF World Tour and other BWF-sanctioned tournaments from Monday March 16 until Sunday April 12.
The escalation of the COVID-19 outbreak globally has led the BWF, in close consultation and consensus with its Host Member Associations and Continental Confederations, to cancel or postpone all tournaments in this period due to the heightened travel and quarantine restrictions in place and the subsequent extreme logistical complications this causes to the movement of badminton athletes.
BWF equally has strong considerations for the health, safety and wellbeing of all athletes, their entourage, officials and the greater badminton community in general.
Tournaments affected include the YONEX Swiss Open 2020, YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2020, Orléans Masters 2020, CELCOM Axiata Malaysia Open 2020, Singapore Open 2020, Adidas Dutch International 2020, Yonex Northa Harbour International 2020, XXI Giraldilla 2020 in La Habana, CIPUTRA HANOI- YONEX SUNRISE VIETNAM International Challenge 2020,Yonex Waikato International 2020, Polish Open 2020 in Hamilton, Yonex Canadian International Challenge 2020, Yonex Osaka International Challenge 2020 in Japan and the Finnish open 2020.
All the events listed above are Olympics Qualifier.
The suspension of the circuit will come into effect following the completion of the YONEX All England Open 2020 in Birmingham, England, on Sunday 15 March.
Both BWF and Badminton England have been in constant communication with government officials and relevant authorities in the United Kingdom in relation to any possible disruption to the YONEX All England Open and both parties are satisfied with the British government’s most recent advisory issued Friday morning UK time to continue with the staging of the tournament.
Unless government advice changes, Badminton England remains confident that the robust and comprehensive measures in place before and during the event will minimize the potential risk of the virus.
BWF duly accepts this position and that all relevant health, safety and logistical risks have been considered by BWF, Badminton England, tournament organizers, and the local government in reaching this decisions.
A number of the tournaments impacted as a result of the suspension fall within the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifying period. BWF will make a further announcement on regulations related to Olympic qualification points at a later date.
ABOUT BWF
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body of the sport of badminton, recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
It was originally the International Badminton Federation (IBF) which was founded on July 5, 1934, before being rechristened the Badminton World Federation in 2006.
The purpose and objectives of BWF include regulating, promoting, developing and popularizing the sport of badminton throughout the world and organizing, conducting and presenting international events at the highest level.
The BWF’s vision is to make badminton a leading global sport accessible to all – giving every child a chance to play for life.
Its mission is to lead and inspire all stakeholders; to deliver entertainment through exciting events to drive fan experience; and to create innovative, impactful and sustainable development initiatives.
BWF has its Headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with 193 Member Associations worldwide.
Poul-Erik Høyer is the BWF President and Thomas Lund is the BWF Secretary General.
