New Delhi: The Hyderabad Open badminton tournament, scheduled to be held in August, was cancelled Thursday. This decision was conveyed by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The move comes days after the unveiling of a revised calendar. Badminton across the world had remained suspended since March when lockdown was imposed in most countries.
Tournament cancelled
The tournament, set from August 11 to 16, was one of the three to be held in India in the calendar announced May 22 by the BWF. It would have been restart to the sport after the pandemic-forced cancellations since March.
“BWF and Badminton Association of India (BAI) have agreed to cancel the Hyderabad Open 2020 (11-16 August). It is a Super 100 event on the BWF Tour,” the BWF said in a statement.
Calendar once more revised
BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said circumstances have and will continue to change in certain countries. Therefore further updates on the status of tournaments will be given as and when necessary.
“These changes announced are necessary but do not directly impact the new BWF Tournament Calendar 2020. The calendar was created to allow for changes as part of our framework for badminton’s potential return,” Lund informed.
Gopichand’s statement
Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand admitted that it would have been too difficult to commit to a tournament in August. Hyderabad is still under lockdown.
“At the moment the lockdown is still on in Hyderabad. The Telangana government has still not decided when the sports infrastructure will open. Even though the central government has cleared it, the Telengana government is continuing with lockdown. Under such circumstances, it would be difficult to organise a tournament.
The BWF also cancelled two other tournaments – the Open and Korea Masters – in view of the global health crisis.
PTI