KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — The Malaysian Badminton Association (BAM) will continue organising the 2021 Malaysia Open despite the withdrawals of some countries from the championship, which has a Super 750 status, on May 25-30.
BAM secretary-general Datuk Kenny Goh said the championship, which is also a qualifying platform for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games, could still be continued so long as the players’ quota at the championship was met.
‘’As long as there are 32 players and pairs, we will continue,’’ he told Bernama, today.
Following the increase in Covid-19 infections in the country currently, Kenny said BAM would always comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP) set by the government to continue with the championship and also help to curb the proliferation of the disease.
The German Open Championship last March became the first Olympic qualifying championship to be cancelled while the Indian Open Championship scheduled from May 11-16 in New Delhi, India was postponed following widespread Covid-19 cases in that country.
For the record, the world’s number two men’s singles player Viktor Axelsen of Denmark was today confirmed Covid-19 positive and has to withdraw from the final of the 2021 European Badminton Championship in Kyiv, Ukraine. — Bernama
