The Asian leg of the 2020 Badminton World Tour scheduled for November has been postponed until January when the matches will be staged in Bangkok, in the latest disruption to the sport due to the coronavirus pandemic.
International badminton matches have been called off throughout the year as authorities around the world restrict movement and public gatherings in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Badminton World Federation said three tournaments on the tour were now scheduled to be played back-to-back in mid-January, with the finals at the end of the month, all in the Thai capital.
It said the matches originally planned for November were no longer “viable” and decided that the Asian leg of the tour should be played later in one location to reduce the risks associated with travel to different cities.
“The January dates provide BWF with the best possible opportunity to resume and complete the HSBC BWF World Tour for 2020 as part of our return to international badminton,” it said in a statement late Friday.
Two of the tour’s Super 1000 tournaments will begin on Jan 12 and 19, with the finals to be played from Jan 27 to 31.
The news comes as the sport’s leaders around Asia elected earlier not to take part in the Thomas and Uber Cup matches scheduled for October, with the event in Denmark finally called off last week.
The Cup has been postponed three times this year and will not take place until 2021.
For now, the Denmark Open scheduled for next month is the only remaining top-level event confirmed on this year’s badminton calendar.