Malaysia Open postponed due to COVID-19 surge

The Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament, one of badminton’s last two Olympic qualifying events, was on Friday postponed due to a recent COVID-19 surge in the host country, dealing a severe blow to the Tokyo hopes of Indian stars like Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth.

The USD 600,000 event was scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur from May 25 to 30.

“All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all



participants, but the recent surge in cases left no choice but to postpone the tournament,” Badminton World Federation said in a statement.

“BWF can confirm the rescheduled tournament will no longer take place in the Olympic qualifying window. New tournament dates will be confirmed at a later date.”

The decision came as a huge setback for London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina and men’s star Srikanth’s last hopes of Olympic qualification.