The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday cancelled the India Open and Hyderabad Open, which were earlier postponed, in a rejig of the 2021 calendar, heavily disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The $400,000 India Open was scheduled for May 11-16 before it was postponed due to rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country. The pandemic has now forced the cancellation of the New Delhi tournament for the second year running. The $100,000 Hyderabad Open was due to be held from August 24-29.
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Meanwhile, the $200,000 Syed Modi India International, scheduled to be held in Lucknow from October 12-17, remains on course as of now.
Other cancelled tournaments include New Zealand Open, Australia Open, Vietnam Open, China Open, Japan Open, Indonesia Masters, Fuzhou China Open and Hong Kong Open.
The pandemic has also forced the shifting of the Sudirman Cup and World Tour Finals from China. “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 Sudirman Cup Finals and the World Tour Finals,” BWF said in a statement.
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Vantaa, Finland, is the new host for the Sudirman Cup (September 26–October 3) before the circuit moves to Denmark for back-to-back tournaments. The Thomas & Uber Cup Finals, postponed from 2020, will be held in Aarhus from October 9-17 followed by the Denmark Open (October 19-24) in Odense , French Open (October 26-31) in Paris and the SaarLorLux Open (November 2-7) in Saarbrücken, Germany.
The circuit will then move to Asia with Indonesia hosting a three-tournament leg in Bali to close out the World Tour. The Indonesia Masters (November 16-21) will be followed by Indonesia Open (November 23-28) before the season ending BWF World Tour Finals (December 1-5).
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The final tournament of the year will be the World Championships in Huelva, Spain, from December 12-19.
“The changes represent the best and most feasible opportunity for badminton tournaments to resume with regularity over the next six months,” BWF added. “The next ranking cycle will start immediately following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The new calendar 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.”
