The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday suspended a host of its flagship international, junior and para tournaments scheduled from May to July in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It comprises many Grade 2 and 3 events including HSBC BWF World Tour, BWF Tour and other BWF-sanctioned tournaments. According to a BWF release, the decision was taken in “close consultation and consensus” with the Host Member Associations (HMA) and Continental Confederations (CC).

#BREAKING

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A number of HSBC BWF World Tour, BWF Tour and other BWF-sanctioned tournaments currently scheduled to take place in May, June and July have been suspend due to #COVID19https://t.co/CBZC9RFtdH

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— BWF (@bwfmedia) April 6, 2020

The most prominent tournament affected during the period is the Indonesia Open 2020 (Super 1000). “The escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic globally has led all parties to confirm the suspension of these tournaments. The health, safety and wellbeing of all athletes, their entourage, officials and the greater badminton community remains the top priority,” the release stated.

Last week, the BWF froze the world rankings and world junior rankings until further notice, with the lists backdated to March 17, 2020. “BWF will provide more clarity on the unfreezing of rankings once it is deemed safe to resume tournaments.

“The BWF is also reviewing the impacts of the rescheduling of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games upon the Olympic and Paralympic qualification system. This review process is expected to take several weeks upon which BWF will make a further announcement,” it further stated.

The entire sporting calendar has been brought to a halt by the dreaded COVID-19 virus. Man high profile tournaments including the Euro 2020, Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, NBA, Wimbledon as well as the Indian Premier League (IPL) have all been postponed or called off in view of the health threat posed by the COVID-19 virus.

The cash-rich IPL stands postponed as of now but it is extremely likely that the tournament will be cancelled as the number of COVID-19 cases in India continue to increase in India.

Cancelled Tournament: Grade 2 International Tournaments: Australian Open 2020 (2 – 7 June) Thailand Open 2020 (9 – 14 June) Indonesia Open 2020 (16 – 21 June) Russian Open 2020 (7 – 12 July) Grade 3, Junior and Para Badminton Denmark Challenge 2020 (7 – 10 May) Slovenia International 2020 (13 – 16 May) Latvia International 2020 (28 – 31 May) Vietnam International Challenge 2020 (2 – 7 June) Lithuanian International 2020 (4 – 7 June) Canada Para Badminton International 2020 (9 – 14 June) Russian International Junior White Nights 2020 (25 – 28 June) White Nights 2020 (1 – 5 July) All England Junior Badminton Championships 2020 (16 – 19 July)

(With inputs from PTI)