The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Friday that the Asian leg of the BWF World Tour has been postponed to January 2021 for logistical reasons amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three Asian rounds, which were scheduled to be held across the Philippines, Indonesia and China in November this year, will now be played in Thailand next year.
The re-scheduled Asian leg will begin with the Asia Open I from Jan. 12-17, followed by Asia Open II from Jan. 19-24 and the BWF World Tour Finals from Jan. 27-31.
"It was agreed by the BWF Council that staging the Asian leg in November as originally planned was no longer a viable option in being able to guarantee the highest standard of tournament including securing all logistical arrangements for players and participants," the BWF said in a statement.
"The January dates provide BWF with the best possible opportunity to resume and complete the HSBC BWF World Tour for 2020 as part of our return to international badminton."
The badminton season, which was suspended due to the novel coronavirus pandemic following the All England Open in March, will resume with the Denmark Open from Oct. 13-18 in Odense.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Chennai; Editing by Toby Davis)
