Published 16:07 IST, December 22nd 2020
BWF announces 2021 calendar focused on Olympic qualifiers; India Open scheduled in May
As 2020 is coming to an end, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) has announced its 2021 Calender, which will begin next month on January 12.
After COVID-19 forced the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to cancel multiple events, the top governing body of badminton postponed their events till it was safe for athletes to play again. More than twenty BWF events have been mapped out till the Tokyo Olympics, most being qualifiers for the Olympics that are rescheduled for the next year. The India Open in May will be the last scheduled qualifiers before the Olympics a few months later.
BWF 2021 Calendar released; focus on Olympics qualifiers
BWF calendar until Tokyo Olympics is out 📅
— The SportsGram India (@SportsgramIndia) December 21, 2020
Indian Open in May is going to be the last tournament for Olympic qualification points 🇮🇳#badminton | #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/UKvhVkT5bS
As per the schedule, the qualifying period for Tokyo will resume next year from the Swiss Open in March, followed by the German Open the same month. The India Open will be the last of the 17 qualifiers. "The qualification period will be extended until Week 19 with the India Open 2021 being the last tournament in the qualification period," BWF said in their statement.
The India Open was originally scheduled for March this year, before being pushed to December, but was eventually cancelled due to COVID-19 – which was the case for many other BWF events. As per BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund, "The focus has been to establish cluster tournaments where possible similar to what is planned for the Asian Leg in January in Thailand". The BWF is now expecting to stage multiple events, hoping to "ensure a more feasible tournament programme in 2021".
BWF events: India Open, Thailand Open and US Open
| TOURNAMENT | DATES (2021) | CITY |
| YONEX Thailand Open 2020 | 12 to 17 January | Bangkok |
| Toyota Thailand Open 2020 | 19 to 24 January | Bangkok |
| HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2020 | 27 to 31 January | Bangkok |
| YONEX Swiss Open (Q) | 2 to 7 March | Basel |
| YONEX German Open (Q) | 9 to 14 March | Muelheim an der Ruhr |
| 56 Portuguese International Champions (Q) | 11 to 14 March | Caldas Da Rainha |
| YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships | 17 to 21 March | Birmingham |
| LI-NING Czech Open (Q) | 18 to 21 March | Brno |
| XXI Giraldilla (Q) | 17 to 21 March | La Habana |
| Orleans Masters (Q) | 23 to 28 March | Orleans |
| Polish Open (Q) | 25 to 28 March | Gniezno |
| CIPUTRA HANOI – YONEX SUNRISE Vietnam International Challenge (Q) | 25 to 28 March | Hanoi |
| Malaysia Open (Q) | 31 March to 4 April | Kuala Lumpur |
| YONEX Osaka International Challenge (Q) | 31 March to 4 April | Osaka |
| Malaysia Masters | 6 to 11 April | Kuala Lumpur |
| Singapore Open (Q) | 13 to 18 April | Singapore |
| Peru International (Q) | 21 to 25 April | Lima |
| Victor Croatian International (Q) | 22 to 25 April | Zagreb |
| Badminton Asia Championships (Q) | 27 April to 2 May | TBA |
| European Championships (Q) | 27 April to 2 May | Kyiv |
| XXIV Pan AM Individual Championships (Q) | 27 April to 2 May | Guatemala |
| India Open (Q) | 11 to 16 May | New Delhi |
| Spain Masters | 25 to 30 May | TBA |
| Indonesia Masters | 1 to 6 June | Jakarta |
| Indonesia Open | 8 to 13 June | Jakarta |
| YONEX Canada Open | 29 June to 4 July | Calgary |
| US Open | 6 to 11 July | California |
| Russian Open | 20 to 25 July | Vladivostok |
| Tokyo Olympics 2020 | 24 July to 2 August | Tokyo |
Note: Q = Olympic Qualifiers
(Image credits: PTI)
Updated 16:07 IST, December 22nd 2020