Singapore Open cancelled due to coronavirus surge

KUALA LUMPUR ─ THE Singapore Open, the last badminton tournament offering Olympic qualifying points, has been cancelled.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in a statement yesterday that the decision to call off the tournament, scheduled for June 1-6, 2021, was jointly agreed on by the BWF and the organiser, the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA).

The Super 500 event on the BWF World Tour was supposed to be the last tournament offering Race to Tokyo (RTT) ranking points inside the Olympic qualifying window that will end on June 15, 2021.

“The BWF can confirm that the tournament will not be rescheduled. The BWF will issue a further statement on Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifying points at a later date,” the statement read.

The world badminton governing body said all attempts were made by the organiser and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all participants.

“However, rising Covid-19 cases globally led to complex challenges in managing inbound travel. Thus, in the interests of all players, tournament personnel and the local community’s health and safety, the event has been cancelled,” the statement said.

Last Friday, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) announced the postponement of the May 25-30, 2021, Malaysia Open, the penultimate tournament in the RTT, just two weeks after the Indian Open, scheduled from May 11-16, 2021, was postponed, both due to a surge in Covid-19 cases. ─ BERNAMA, 13 May 2021