Coronavirus: Badminton restart difficult to predict, says BWF chief Thomas Lund

Badminton will be back in action “as soon as possible” after  coronavirus crisis, sport’s chief told AFP, adding that international travel restrictions were complicating picture. Badminton, like tennis, golf and or sports with an international circuit, faces major hurdles after countries introduced an array of travel bans and quarantine periods to combat Covid-19. Thomas Lund, secretary-general of Badminton World Federation, said an anuncement on a rejigged 2020 calendar was expected soon. But he cautioned that situation remained fluid.

Badminton restart difficult to predict

“We are gearing up to be ready to start competition as soon as possible. This includes formulating a revamped BWF tournament calendar for 2020. An anuncement on this will be made shortly,” Lund said in a statement to AFP.

“But at this point in time, it is difficult to predict when international movement and entry restrictions will be lifted by individual countries and territories in order to guarantee that players, ir entour, officials and staff can participate in tournaments safely.”

Badminton has already moved Thomas and Uber Cups, a highlight of season, to later in year, hoping that virus emergency will have passed. de facto men’s and women’s world team championships – originally scheduled for May, and n moved to August – are w set to take place in Aarhus, Denmark in October. pinnacle of badminton season had been expected to be Tokyo Olympics, w shifted to 2021 because of coronavirus pandemic. All BWF tournaments have been suspended since mid-March when most professional sports worldwide were frozen as travel restrictions a bit and a swa of countries went into lockdown.