The Badminton World Federation announced the cancellation of two world tour badminton events - Hong Kong Open Super 500 and Macau Open Super 300 due to a surge in COVID cases and restrictions governing the two countries on Thursday.
The move came after a sudden spike in COVID cases in both regions. The Macau Open was slated to begin on November 1. The Hong Kong Open was scheduled to be held in Kowloon from November 8 to 13. The governing body of the two countries informed the Badminton World Federation of their inability to host the events under current circumstances.
"In light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation and complexities of quarantine measures in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Badminton Association (HKBA) had been working closely with government authorities to seek special approval on easing some restrictions for event participants," the BWF said in a statement.
The association has raised concerns over the cross borders travels and their stay for athletes, coaches, and staff.
"However, with quarantine restrictions still required for all overseas visitors, HKBA concluded there was no other viable option than to cancel the tournament,” BWF added. Similarly, after the Badminton Federation of Macau considered all travel and entry restrictions and informed BWF that there was no possibility of conducting the tournament this year.
After the ongoing Japan Open 2022 this week, the world tour will move to Europe in October for tournaments in Denmark, France, and Germany.
(Inputs PTI)
