The India Open badmonton tournament was on Monday postponed due to a spike in COVID-19 cases across the country.
The USD 400,000 India Open, one of the last three qualifying events for the Tokyo Olympics, was scheduled to be held behind closed doors in New Delhi between May 11 to 16.
“Considering the current challenges, BAI is left with no option but to announce the postponement of the tournament for the time being,” Badminton Association of India (BAI) general secretary Ajay Singhania said at a virtual press conference.
“Several rounds of discussions were held with BWF as well as the Delhi government and other stakeholders and accessing the safety of players and officials BAI needed to take this decision,” he added.
Significantly, the national capital has emerged as the worst hit city in the country with 25,462 cases reported on Sunday and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced a six-day lockdown starting tonight till next Monday.
“We had an entry of 228 players and close to 300 peoples gathering including coaches, support staff and officials and the circumstances are such that the 2021 edition of Yonex-Sunrise India Open seems for now a very risky affair,” Singhania said.
The last edition of the tournament too, was cancelled after it was initially postponed from March to December.