Singapore Open Called Off Due to COVID, Saina May Miss Olympics
The Singapore Open was the last chance for Olympic hopefuls to pick up crucial points for qualification at Tokyo.
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The Singapore Open which was slated for June 1-6 has been cancelled due to the travel complications that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers confirmed on Wednesday.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) said the tournament would not be rescheduled.
As it stands, the cancellation of the tournament means that Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth cannot qualify for Tokyo. This would be the first time since Beijing 2008 that Saina will not be at the Olympic Games.
The chances of London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina and Srikanth qualifying for Tokyo were centred around the Singapore Open after the Malaysian Open (25 to 30 May) was postponed on 7 May.
The Singapore Open was the last chance for Olympic hopefuls to pick up crucial points for qualification at Tokyo.
The Race to Tokyo, a programme which decides the qualification, will end on 15 June and the BWF have said that there will be an announcement on details regarding Olympic qualification later.
"All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all participants," the BWF said in a statement.
"However, rising COVID-19 cases globally led to complex challenges in managing inbound travel. Thus, in the interests of all players, tournament personnel and the local community's health and safety, the event has been cancelled."
Indian shuttlers who have already made the cut for the Olympics include PV Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth and the men''s doubles pairing of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
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