All England tournament to go ahead
Next week’s All England Open in Birmingham will go ahead as originally scheduled, organisers said yesterday.
The March 11-15 event is the season’s first World Tour Super 1000 tournament and counts towards qualification for the Tokyo Olympics.
Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy said in a statement that the organisers were mindful of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Badminton England is continuing to monitor the ongoing situation regarding the Covid-19 but based on up-to-date government advice and the publication of the government’s Coronavirus Action Plan, we will be going ahead with the All England Open Badminton Championships at Arena Birmingham on March 11-15 as planned,” he said.
“We will also continue to implement a number of measures to minimise the potential risk of the virus on players, officials, volunteers and fans attending the event.”
Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon is among the favourites in the women’s singles at the 2020 All England Open.
The 2013 world champion has lost twice in the final in Birmingham where she is seeded fifth this year and will face Malaysia’s Sonia Cheah in the opening round.
Meanwhile, next month’s Badminton Asia Championships have been moved out of Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, to the Philippine capital Manila, officials said yesterday.
The tournament will now be staged in Manila from April 21-26.
“Badminton Asia [BA] together with Philippine Badminton Association has been working closely to ensure visa approval for player and officials’ entry into Manila for all participants in this important and prestigious Championship,” BA said in a statement.
The coronavirus has forced the postponement or cancellation of several badminton tournaments, disrupting the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics.