Revised dates unfeasible, Hyd Open badminton cancelled

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NEW DELHI: The inaugural Hyderabad Open badminton tournament, scheduled to be held in August, was on Thursday cancelled by the sport’s world governing body in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, two weeks after the unveiling of a revised calendar.

The $90,000 tournament, set from August 11 to 16, was one of the three scheduled to be held in India in the calendar announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on May 22 to restart the sport after the pandemic-forced cancellations since March.

On Thursday, the BWF announced its decision to cancel the event, a Super 100 event on the lower-tier BWF Tour scheduled from August 11 to 16, after getting the nod from Badminton Association of India (BAI). The prevailing situation owing to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the authorities to cancel the event.

“BWF and Badminton Association of India have agreed to cancel the Hyderabad Open 2020 (11-16 August) - a Super 100 on the BWF Tour,” the BWF said in a statement.

The YONEX-SUNRISE India Junior International Grand Prix 2020, which was to be held in Pune from August 4-9, has also been cancelled. BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said circumstances have and will continue to change in certain countries and therefore further updates on the status of tournaments will be given as and when necessary.

“These changes announced today are necessary but do not directly impact the new BWF Tournament Calendar 2020, which was created to allow for changes as part of our framework for badminton’s potential return,” he said. 

"BWF continues to work closely with member associations and continental confederations to reschedule as many tournaments as possible. This has not been an easy task as each national territory is responding differently to the improving Covid-19 situation. We thank all involved for the great collaboration in working on the calendar and revising where needed," the BWF further stated .

Grade 2 and 3 – Cancelled Tournaments (not previously announced)

Grade 2 – Cancelled
– Hyderabad Open 2020, Hyderabad – BWF Tour Super 100 (11-16 August)
– CROWN Australian Open 2020, Sydney – HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 (2-7 June)
– GWANGJU Korea Masters 2020, Gwangju – HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 (24-29 November)

Grade 3 – Cancelled
– AMOT Junior International Series – Rishon Le Zion (12-14 March)
– Polish Open 2020, Krakow – International Challenge (26-29 March)
– FZ FORZA Alps International Under 19, Voiron (17-19 April)
– VICTOR Malaysia International Series 2020, Kuala Lumpur (16-21 June)
– Haskoko Bulgarian Junior, Haskoko (6-8 July)
– All England Junior Badminton Championships 2020 (16-19 July)
– Ukraine International 2020, Kharkiv – International Series (3-6 September)
– Polish International 2020 Rzeszów – International Series (17-20 September)
– Myanmar International Challenge 2020, Yangon – Int. Challenge (29 Sept – 4 Oct)
– Myanmar Future Series 2020, Yangon – Future Series (6 – 11 October)
– Indonesia International Challenge (20 – 25 October)
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2.  Grade 2 Tournaments / Continental Championships Which Remain Suspended

A number of tournaments remain suspended.  These are:
– YONEX German Open 2020 (3-8 March)
– YONEX Swiss Open 2020 (17-22 March)
– 2020 European Championships (21-26 April)

Suitable replacement dates are still being finalised for these suspended tournaments.

 

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BWF unveils revamped 2020 calendar, India Open from Dec 8