Badminton: BWF announces revamped tournament calendar for 2020
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) plans to resume the World Tour with the Taipei Open Super 300 meet on September 1. The BWF has also announced new dates for five of the nine tournaments which were suspended following the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The revised schedule is subject to safety clearances, the BWF said in a release on Friday.
BWF to start when it's safe and logistically possible
BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said: "It has been a difficult task to plan for badminton's return. It is a condensed calendar but we are confident this provides the framework to allow us to start again when it is safe and logistically possible." "At this point in time, it is difficult to predict when international movement and entry restrictions will be lifted by countries."
BWF has worked on badminton's potential return
The BWF released a statement saying, that a lot of planning and consultation has taken place with Member Association hosts to be able to provide the framework for badminton's potential return. This includes the rescheduling of top-tier events that had previously been postponed or suspended.
Health and safety of the badminton community is BWF's priority
"The health, safety and well being of all athletes, their entourage, officials and the greater badminton community remains our No.1 priority," he said. "We have also tried to ensure the continued livelihoods of our badminton players, including supporting all our Member Associations, by making considered preparations for badminton's return at the soonest possible chance at all levels across the world."
Key events to take place once BWF World Tour resumes
The BWF World Tour is scheduled for a return with the Taipei Open 2020 from September 1-6. The New Zealand Open Super 300), Indonesia Open (Super 1000), Malaysia Open (Super 750), Thailand Open (Super 500) and India Open Super 500) have seen new dates. The season-ending Tour Finals in Guangzhou has been pushed back a week and will now conclude on December 20.
