Badminton World Tour Finals 2022 shifted from China to Thailand due to Covid-19 situation
BWF World Tour Finals 2022 has been moved from Guangzhou to Bangkok, Thailand due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Chinese city. The tournament will get underway a week earlier from December 7.
HS Prannoy is likely to be India’s only representative at BWF World Tour Finals (PTI Photo)
By India Today Web Desk: The season-ending Badminton World Tour Finals tournament has been shifted out of Guangzhou to Bangkok due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the Chinese city. The tournament will get underway a week earlier and will now be played from December 7 to 11, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in a statement on Tuesday, November 15.
The postponement of sporting events in China raises concerns about the Asian Games, which were postponed until 2023. Hangzhou was set to host the continental tournament in August 2022.
“BWF in consultation with the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) agreed to relocate the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 due to the various challenges brought about by the current pandemic situation,” the BWF said in a statement.
The global governing body of world badminton also thanked the Badminton Association of Thailand for providing a late replacement venue in “such late notice”.
The BWF World Tour Finals will now be played at the Nimibutr Arena in Bangkok. The tournament will start earlier due to stadium availability and a consequence of the change in location.
The top 8 players and pairs will compete in the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals. The final list of qualified players and pairs will be confirmed by the BWF on November 22 after the completing of Australian Open.
Notably, India’s PV Sindhu pulled out of the tournament to give herself more time to recover from a stress fracture. Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen are unlikely to qualify after missing the Australian Open.
HS Prannoy is set to be India’s only representative at the prestigious season-ending tournament.
