Tokyo Games qualification period extended for shuttlers

New Delhi: The Tokyo Olympics badminton qualification period was on Friday extended by nearly two months to June 15 after the postponement of three important tournaments due to Covid-19 related restrictions.

The qualification period was earlier to end on April 25.

“The Olympic Qualifying period for the Race to Tokyo will now close on 15 June 2021, with the last tournament counting for qualification being the Singapore Open 2021,” the BWF said in a statement.

“BWF is working with the IOC to update the Tokyo 2020 qualification system whereby the final updated regulation will be shared once ready following formal approval by IOC,” it added.
The world body said preparations for the Olympic qualifying tournaments will continue as international badminton is set to resume with the YONEX Swiss Open 2021 (March 2-7) and All England Open 2021 (March 17-21).

The development came after the BWF decided to postpone two tournaments in Malaysia and Singapore Open from their earlier scheduled dates.

“The Malaysia Open 2021 (Super 750) will now occur 25-30 May.
The Malaysia Masters 2021 (Super 500) has been postponed until further notice,” the world body said.

“The Singapore Open 2021 (Super 500) has been moved to the new dates of 1-6 June.”