In the wake of growing concerns over the novel coronavirus outbreak in China and surrounding areas, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) on Saturday postponed the China Masters in Lingshui “until a later date”.
“BWF and CBA have considered all necessary health, safety and logistical risks and both parties believe it is sensible to postpone the tournament at this time. It may be noted that many players have already withdrawn from the tournament,” the BWF said in a statement.
Originally scheduled to be held from February 25 to March 1, the replacement dates for the Super 100 event were not announced but alternative options are being discussed with a new time slot for May. This means that shuttlers will have one less tournament to collect ranking points during the Olympic qualification period for which the cut off date is April 28.
This is the second tournament in less than two weeks whose ranking points will not be counted in the Olympic qualification cycle.
On January 21, the BWF had announced that ranking points from the Fajr Badminton International Challenge, scheduled from February 4-8 in Shiraz, Iran, will not be counted in the Race to Tokyo rankings after several governments issued advisories to not travel to Iran considering “safety concerns of their players and coaches”.
{{/usCountry}}On January 21, the BWF had announced that ranking points from the Fajr Badminton International Challenge, scheduled from February 4-8 in Shiraz, Iran, will not be counted in the Race to Tokyo rankings after several governments issued advisories to not travel to Iran considering “safety concerns of their players and coaches”.
{{/usCountry}}Points from the tournament will, however, still be counted towards the regular world rankings.
Meanwhile, Badminton Asia (BA) is reviewing its flagship event to be held in April—the Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.