Tokyo Games points relief

SHUTTLERS will keep ranking points they earned during the original Olympic qualification period before the novel coronavirus pandemic forced the Tokyo Games to be postponed, the Badminton World Federation said yesterday. The All England Open, played from March 11-15, was the final event to count towards Olympic qualification before the circuit closed down due to the spread of the virus. Rankings at the end of April should have been the cutoff to decide which badminton players will be at the Tokyo Games. The governing body said an extended Olympic qualification period will be introduced in 2021 and will include only those tournaments that were postponed, cancelled or suspended due to the pandemic this year. The BWF added that players from China and Hong Kong can earn points from the 2021 Badminton Asia Team Championships as they were not able to participate in the 2020 edition in Manila due to travel restrictions imposed by the Philippines.