KUALA LUMPUR: The YONEX-SUNRISE India Open Super 500 and Hyderabad Open Super 100 tournaments were among nine major tournaments cancelled by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday, which announced a revamped international calender to salvage the remaining season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The $400,000 India Open, which was supposed to be one of the qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics, was scheduled to be held from May 11 to 16 but was postponed in April due to rising COVID cases in the national capital.
The $100,000 Hyderabad Open was slated to be held from August 24 to 29. However, Syed Modi India International Super 300 tournament, scheduled to be held in Lucknow from October 12 to 17, remained on course as of now, according to the new calender.
“A number of tournaments previously classified as postponed from Q1 and Q2 or originally slated for Q3 and Q4 of 2021 have subsequently been cancelled,” BWF said in a statement.
Tournaments cancelled
BARFOOT & THOMPSON New Zealand Open (Super 300)
CROWN GROUP Australia Open (Super 300)
YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2021 (Super 500)
Hyderabad Open 2021 (Super 100) – Cancelled
YONEX SUNRISE Vietnam Open 2021 (Super 100)
VICTOR China Open 2021 (Super 1000)
DAIHATSU YONEX Japan Open (Super 750)
Fuzhou China Open 2021 (Super 750)
YONEX-SUNRISE Hong Kong Open 2021 (Super 500)
In other announcements, the world body on Monday said that Finland will host the Sudirman Cup Finals in September-October while the season-ending World Tour Finals will be staged in Indonesia. China was scheduled to host both the Sudirman Cup Final and the World Tour Finals but BWF decided to move both the events out of the country due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The apex body also decided to push the prestigious World Championships, to be held in Spain, by two weeks. “COVID-19 restrictions have meant it is not feasible to conduct tournaments in China this year. Therefore, alternative host cities have been identified for the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2021 and the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2021,” BWF said.
Post Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Period
The next ranking cycle will start immediately following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The revised calendar announced Monday offers players a safe and consistent platform to earn important world ranking points and prize money in this crucial post-Olympic Games period for the sport.
COVID-19 restrictions means that it is not feasible to conduct tournaments in China this year. Therefore, alternative host cities have been identified for the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup 2021 and the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2021.
Summary of the Key Changes
Vantaa, Finland is the new host of the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2021 in Week 39 (26 September – 3 October 2021).
There will be a one-week gap between the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2021 in Finland before a shift to Denmark for back-to-back tournaments.
The TotalEnergies BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals 2020 in Aarhus, Denmark is in Week 41 (9-17 October 2021).
This is the 2020 edition of the championships postponed from last year.
Three consecutive weeks of the HSBC BWF World Tour will then follow:
DANISA Denmark Open 2021 in Odense in Week 42 (19-24 October 2021):
Upgraded to a Super 1000 level.
YONEX French Open 2021 in Paris in Week 43 (26-31 October 2021).
SaarLorLux Open 2021 in Saarbrücken, Germany in Week 44 (2-7 November 2021).
There will be a one-week gap for the HSBC BWF World Tour to move to Asia.
Indonesia will host a three-tournament Asian Leg in Bali to close out the HSBC BWF World Tour 2021 season.
Indonesia Masters 2021 in Week 46 (16-21 November 2021):
Upgraded to a Super 750 level.
Indonesia Open 2021 in Week 47 (23-28 November 2021).
HSBC BWF World Tour Finals in Week 48 (1-5 December 2021).
The final tournament of the calendar year will be the Total Energies BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain in Week 50 (12-19 December 2021).
