Cloud of uncertainty hovers over Modi badminton tourney
LUCKNOW:With uncertainty looming over resumption of normalcy in view of spike in corona cases in the state capital, the Uttar Pradesh Badminton Association is mulling over the cancellation of prestigious Syed Modi International Badminton Tournament, scheduled to be held from November 17 to 22 at the UP Badminton Academy here.
A final decision over the cancellation or postponement of the US $ 17,000 tournament would officially be taken by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in due course of time but the people concerned are ‘very much sure’ that the event will not take place this year due to the pandemic.
After cancelling this year’s India Open event (March 26-29) at New Delhi, the BWF on Wednesday, announced the cancellation of the four tournaments, including the Taiwan Open (Sept 1-6), Korean Open (Sept 8-13), China Open (Sept 15-20) and Japan Open (Sept 22-27).
“We aren’t sure about the event (Modi tourney) so far as we are waiting for an instruction from the Badminton Association of India,” UP Badminton Association’s secretary Arun Kakkar said on Tuesday. “Nothing seems clear right now as hotels are closed and we are not sure about the resumption of normalcy so taking any decision is really difficult for us.”
He, however, said the issue of sponsorship etc. would only come for discussion only when the hosting body get a ‘go ahead’ for the event.
“Sponsorship and other issues would only come for a discussion once we get to know about the happening of the event, but for right now things look uncertain.”
Before cancelling the India Open, the BWF cancelled the Hyderabad Open Badminton Tournament, scheduled to be held in August in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament, set from August 11 to 16, was one of the three to be held in India in the calendar announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on May 22 to restart the sport after the pandemicforced cancellations since March.
The BWF is hopeful that the season could only return in October with the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Aarhus, Denmark from Oct 3-11. However, these competitions could be cancelled if the pandemic situation doesn’t improve. BWF said an update on the remainder of tournaments for 2020 would be made in due course.
“We are already facing twoday restrictions every week in the state capital due to the spike in corona cases and given the situation it is expected to last long. For any big event like Modi tourney, we need to have hotel bookings almost four months in advance and if the event has to happen in November all the bookings etc had to be done in the first week of August, but it seems unlikely this time,” said a UPBA insider on condition of anonymity.
“Health, safety and movement restrictions are now quite varied across the country as well as in the city no one is sure when the normalcy return. All sports activities in the state are already suspended for the last four months and we are also not sure about the state government’s view about the big events, involving players even from China and other foreign countries,” he said.