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The Ba dminton World Federation (BWF) has called off two tournaments in the 2022 World Tour due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Hong Kong Open Super 500 and Macau Open Super 300 which were slated to be held in November this year, have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 restrictions in the two countries. While the Macau Open was slated to take place in the first week of November (1-6), Hong Kong Open was set to be played right after that (8-12).
BWF on Thursday said that the governing body of the two countries informed the world governing body that hosting an event under the current situation will not be viable.
"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.
"However, with quarantine restrictions still required for all overseas visitors, HKBA concluded there was no other viable option than to cancel the tournament," the statement further added.
"Similarly, after considering all travel and entry restrictions into Macau, and the ongoing health prevention measures in place, Badminton Federation of Macau informed BWF there was no possibility to conduct their tournament this year."
Currently, Japan Open, the 16th tournament on the BWF World Tour 2022 calendar is underway. Post its completion, the world tour will head to Europe in October for tournaments in Denmark, France, and Germany. Notably, as many as five tournaments including the US Open and the New Zealand Open have been cancelled so far. The 2022 BWF World Tour will conclude with the Finals in China.
Viktor Axelsen of Denmark is leading the rankings in Men’s Singles while India’s HS Prannoy is right behind him. Meanwhile, PV Sindhu is at the top of the rankings in Women’s Singles.