S'pore open shuttered by Covid

The Singapore Badminton Open, which was scheduled for June 1-6 and set to be the final qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics, has been cancelled for a second consecutive year.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) and tournament organiser Singapore Badminton Association announced the decision yesterday. The event was set to feature athletes from 29 countries, including powerhouses China, Denmark, Japan and India.

Both parties said in a joint statement yesterday: "All attempts were made by the organisers 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 interest of all players, tournament personnel, and the local community's health and safety, the event has been cancelled."

The BWF also confirmed that the event, a Super 500 event on the HSBC BWF World Tour with a prize purse of US$320,000 (S$426,000), will not be rescheduled.

While badminton tournaments resumed after last year's Covid-hit season, they have courted controversy with confusion over coronavirus test results at the Thailand Open in January and the All-England Open in March.

Indonesian players and officials were also upset when they were forced to withdraw after a passenger on their flight to England for the latter event tested positive.

The April 27-May 2 Badminton Asia Championships was postponed after China pulled out as host, and although the European Badminton Championships proceeded on the same dates, Denmark's Viktor Axelsen tested positive before the men's singles final, handing compatriot Anders Antonsen a walkover victory.

The pandemic has continued to wreak havoc on the badminton calendar, with competitions such as the May 11-16 India Open and May 25-30 Malaysia Open also postponed.

The BWF said it would issue a statement regarding Olympic qualification later. With the qualifying period closing on June 13 and no eligible tournaments remaining, the cancellation of the Singapore Open most likely means Singaporean shuttlers Loh Kean Yew and Yeo Jia Min are bound for Tokyo as singles players in the top 34 positions in the BWF Race to Tokyo rankings are assured of a spot.

Currently, men's world No. 42 Loh is 18th in the Race to Tokyo rankings, while women's world No. 29 Yeo is 17th.

Loh told The Straits Times: "While it's sad that the Singapore Badminton Open has to be cancelled, the pandemic is something we cannot really control at this point. The decision is in the best interest of everyone.

"I was hoping to get some court time ahead of the Olympics and compete with the other players and see where I currently stand against them, but I think safety is the priority now.

"The lack of competition is frustrating but we can only continue to work with our coaches to fine-tune and improve, and be prepared for what comes next."

The tournament's defending champions were world No. 1s Kento Momota of Japan and Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying, who triumphed when the event was last held in 2019.