KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Open badminton tournament due to take place this month has been postponed because of a worsening coronavirus outbreak, organisers said Friday, leaving only one qualifying event for the Olympics.

The competition was scheduled for May 25-30 but will now happen on future dates which are not yet decided, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said.

“The recent surge in cases left no choice but to postpone the tournament,” they said in a statement.

Infections have climbed sharply in Malaysia in recent weeks, prompting authorities to tighten curbs in the capital Kuala Lumpur — where the tournament was due to happen.

The BWF confirmed the rescheduled competition would no longer take place in the Olympic qualifying window.

This leaves the Singapore Open from June 1 to 6 as the only qualifying event before the Games, which start in July.

As with other sports, the badminton calendar has been thrown into chaos due to the pandemic, with many events cancelled worldwide in the past year.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2021