India Open badminton scheduled in December

The World Tour Super 500 competition, originally scheduled to be held from March 24 to 29, will now take place between December 8 and 13, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in a release. The all-important event will be preceded by the Hyderabad Open (August 11 to 16) and the Syed Modi International (November 17 to 22).

As many as eight tournaments were rescheduled from their original dates, including important events such as New Zealand Open Super 300, Indonesia Open Super 1000, Malaysia Open Super 750, Thailand Open Super 500 and the World Tour Finals in China.

“It has been a difficult task to plan for badminton’s return. It is a condensed calendar but we are confident that this provides the framework to allow us to start again when it is safe and logistically possible,” said BWF secretary general Thomas Lund.

“At this point in time, it is difficult to predict when international movement and entry restrictions will be lifted by individual countries and territories. But, we will not resume competition unless it is absolutely clear that is safe to do so.”