NEW DELHI: The Badminton Association of India is ready to host the $400,000 India Open, an Olympic qualifier, in December this year or January next year, BAI has informed the Badminton World Federation, provided government approval is forthcoming.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) had last week sent a letter to BAI, asking it for a slot to conduct the BWF World Tour Super 500 tournament, which was suspended last month along with the other Tokyo Games qualifiers due to the coronavirus outbreak, PTI reports.
In reply, BAI has given BWF two slots, saying it is ready to host the event either in December or January, pending government approval, Ajay K Singhania, general secretary, BAI, told the newswire.
“…we told them we are ready to conduct the India Open in December or January but it all depends on how this global health crisis comes under control and if we get the government approval,” Singhania told PTI.
“We received the mail (from BWF) last week, asking us if we can host the event in September but gauging the uncertainties around, we have given December as first option and January as the second alternate.
“But it depends on a lot of factors. Right now, international travel is also banned, so let’s see.”
The India Open Super 500 event was scheduled to be held in New Delhi from March 24 to 29.
