NO $O$, NO MALAYSIA OPEN

BAM need help from BWF to host tournament

BAM will not host the Malaysia Open in November if there is no financial assistance from the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

BAM president Datuk Seri Norza Zakaria said yesterday it was not worth hosting the tournament when the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Norza said: “Firstly we need to understand that the Malaysia Open this year will not offer any Olympic qualification points.

“Given the current situation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, we cannot have full capacity in the stadium. There must be social distancing.

“Next, we need to think about all the SOP (standard operating procedure) that needs to be put in place. All this will incur costs.

“We have to be prudent. Top players are also unlikely to participate.”

Norza said unless BAM get assistance from BWF, it will be hard for them to host the Malaysia Open.”

The Malaysia Open was originally scheduled to be held on March 31-April 5, but BWF suspended the World Tour calendar and world rankings after the All England in March when the Covid-19 situation worsened around the world.

After much deliberation, BWF announced a revamped calendar last month, with Nov 24-29 being the new dates for the Malaysia Open.

However, as many countries have yet to open up their borders, Norza believes it may not be feasible to host the World Tour Super 750 event.

“Everything is uncertain right now. Although our players have resumed training, we don’t know if we will be sending them for any overseas tournament just yet.

“The Olympic qualifying process will begin next year, so we rather save on our resources now for next year,” he added.

Everything is uncertain right now. Although our players have resumed training, we don’t know if we will be sending them for any overseas tournament just yet.”

DATUK SERI NORZA ZAKARIA

BAM president