TOKYO: Badminton’s prestigious China and Japan Opens were cancelled on Wednesday by the Badminton World Federation as it announced that four September tournaments in Asia would not be played because of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The Taipei Open (Sept 1-6), the Korea Open (Sept 8-13), the China Open (Sept 15-20) and the Japan Open (Sept 22-27) were all axed.

“We are deeply disappointed to have to cancel tournaments, but feel that the well-being of everyone involved is most important at this time,” BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said in a statement.

“We share the disappointment of many around the world who were looking forward to the return of badminton and appreciate all of the continued support from our fans and partners as we continue to navigate the remainder of the 2020 season,” he added.

The pandemic has upended sports events around the world, from the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to the cancellation of Wimbledon.

On Tuesday, the WTA Pan Pacific Open in Japan, one of Asia’s top tennis tournaments, was cancelled for the first time.

Last week, the men’s ATP Tour and women’s WTA Tour announced all tennis tournaments in China for the rest of the year had been cancelled, including the Shanghai Masters and WTA Finals in Shenzhen.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2020