Badminton World Federation freezes rankings for Tokyo Games

Former top-ranked badminton player Saina Nehwal will miss the Tokyo Olympics after the Badminton World Federation froze the rankings on Friday and said there will be no more qualifying tournaments.

Nehwal, who is from India, failed to finish among the top 16 in the rankings. She could have improved her current ranking of 22nd but two major tournaments — the Malaysian Open and the Singapore Open — were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The qualifying period for badminton is set to officially end on June 15, but the game’s governing body said the current rankings will not change.

“The Olympic qualification process is in effect closed as there are no additional opportunities for players to earn points,” BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said in a statement. “However, we still need to receive confirmations from National Olympic Committees and Member Associations, followed by any possible reallocations, and this will take a number of weeks to complete.”

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.