Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 28, 2020: The Asian leg of the adjusted HSBC Badminton World Federation World Tour 2020 will now take place in Bangkok in January next year.
It will feature two Super 1000 tournaments, culminating with the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals. The decision was announced at a BWF Council meeting on Thursday evening, September 24. This means the 2020 season will now finish in January 2021.
The Badminton World Federation and Badminton Association of Thailand, in collaboration with the Government of Thailand, completed a feasibility study to ensure all parties can provide a safe COVID-19 framework to stage the three tournaments.
The study concluded Thailand to be the agreed host of the three-tournament Asian leg. BWF greatly appreciates the cooperation of the Badminton Association of Thailand and the support and contribution of the Government of Thailand in committing to this important step as part of the restart of international badminton tournaments.
Tournament Schedule
Asia Open I (Super 1000) – 12-17 January 2021
Asia Open II (Super 1000) – 19-24 January 2021
HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2020 – 27-31 January 2021
It was agreed by the BWF Council that staging the Asian leg in November as originally planned was no longer a viable option in being able to guarantee the highest standard of tournament including securing all logistical arrangements for players and participants.
The January dates provide BWF with the best possible opportunity to resume and complete the HSBC BWF World Tour for 2020 as part of our return to international badminton.
The three Asian leg tournaments now sit alongside the DANISA Denmark Open 2020 (13-18 October) in forming the conclusion to the new-look HSBC World Tour 2020 calendar.