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The raging pandemic continues to wreck badminton tournaments in India. For the second year on the trot, the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament was canceled by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The world governing body announced its decision on Thursday, delaying the start of the international badminton season in the country.
The annual badminton tournament was slated to be held in Lucknow from October 12-17, 2021. It also could not be held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation.
“Further to August’s announcement detailing updates to the BWF Tournament Calendar 2021, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm that Syed Modi India International 2021 is now cancelled,” the apex body said in a statement on Thursday.
According to Badminton Association of India (BAI) sources, the tournament was expected to get canceled due to the prevailing situation. The host association as well as BAI officials did not think the situation was right to conduct any major tournament in India in the near future.
BWF and BAI jointly decided to cancel the Lucknow badminton tournament
The BWF has had to cancel several tournaments due to COVID-19 complications and travel restrictions for the last year or so. The BWF, however, did not specify the exact reason for calling off the Syed Modi tournament in India but mentioned that they took the decision jointly with BAI.
“Tournament organizers Badminton Association of India (BAI) made the decision in consultation and collaboration with local government authorities and the BWF. The BWF regrets the cancelation but remains committed to delivering a safe and structured series of badminton tournaments for the rest of the year, including the culmination of the HSBC BWF World Tour,” the statement stated.
Last month, the apex body had canceled the Korea Open (August 31 to September 5), Macau Open (November 2 to 7) and Taipei Open (September 7 to 12) due to “complications regarding the staging” of the event in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The China Open (September 21 to 26), Japan Open (September 28 to October 3), Fuzhou China Open (November 9 to 14) and Hong Kong Open (November 16 to 21) were the other important events which were canceled due to the global health crisis.
Sources said over the next few months, the BWF would most likely hold championships in Europe where the restrictions have been more or less relaxed and players can easily travel.
