Malaysia Open postponed due to COVID-19 surge; Saina, Srikanth’s Olympic hopes take hit
The Hindu
Saina and Srikanth’s qualification for the Tokyo Games hinged on the Kuala Lumpur event followed by the Singapore Open.
The Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament, one of badminton’s last two Olympic qualifying events, was on Friday postponed due to a recent COVID-19 surge in the host country, dealing a severe blow to the Tokyo hopes of Indian stars like Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth. The $600,000 event was scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur from May 25 to 30. “All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all participants, but the recent surge in cases left no choice but to postpone the tournament,” Badminton World Federation said in a statement.
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