Badminton’s final ranking tournament for Tokyo 2020 in Singapore cancelled

Men’s World No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan. © BWF
Men’s World No. 1 Kento Momota of Japan. © BWF

Singapore, May 13, 2021: The Singapore Open badminton tournament, which was due to be the final ranking event for Tokyo 2020 qualification, has been cancelled.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) made the announcement on May 12 and said they would provide an update on Tokyo 2020 qualification at a later date.

The Singapore Open was scheduled for June 1-6 and the decision to cancel rather than postpone the event was taken jointly by tournament organisers Singapore Badminton Association and BWF.

“All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all participants. However, rising COVID-19 cases globally led to complex challenges in managing inbound travel. Thus, in the interests of all players, tournament personnel and the local community’s health and safety, the event has been cancelled,” BWF said.

“BWF can confirm the tournament will not be rescheduled.”

The Singapore Open 2021 is a Super 500 event on the HSBC BWF World Tour and was the last tournament offering Race To Tokyo ranking points inside the Olympic qualifying window.

On May 7, BWF announced that Celcom Axiata Malaysian Open scheduled for May 25-30 had been postponed.

The Malaysian Open 2021 is a Super 750 event on the HSBC BWF World Tour and was originally scheduled as an Olympic qualifying tournament. New tournament dates will be confirmed later, but the Malaysian Open will no longer fit into the Olympic qualifying window.