The Badminton World Federation (BWF) was keen on getting the sport up and running after the long downtime caused by COVID-19. BWF came up with an elaborate plan of putting together 6 tournaments that would take place over a 66 day period, spread across two continents.
The two starting tournaments was supposed to be the Thomas and Uber Cup which was scheduled to run from Oct 3 to 11 in Denmark. Participating countries were expected to send their teams to battle it out for what is considered to be one of the most prestigious tournaments in the sport.
The BWF received praise from many badminton players from around the world for deciding to proceed with the sport. However, the BWF has faced multiple challenges in the last few weeks which has forced them to cancel the Thomas and Uber Cup and push it to 2021.
The BWF received notice from multiple countries including China and Australia early on that they would not play the Thomas and Uber Cup as they did not want to take the risk and send their players overseas.
However, the BWF was keen on proceeding with the tournament as they had put in place a number of standard operating procedures (SOPs) that would create a bio-bubble and protect players and coaching staff.
South Korea and Thailand recently informed the BWF that they were also pulling out. This forced the BWF to call a meeting with its key stakeholders which include commercial partners and member associations. The committee decided that with 7 countries pulling out, they would no longer be able to provide fans with the standard of competition and play that they are used to seeing at the Thomas and Uber Cup.
As a result, the BWF has decided to postpone the Thomas and Uber Cup to 2021. The governing body confirmed that it will proceed with the Denmark Open 2020 which will run in Odense from Oct 13 to 18.
The ex- chief national badminton coach for India praised the BWF for doing everything in its power to resume the season and criticized top Asian players for backing out and damaging the sport.
Vimal Kumar said China, Thailand and Taipei had their domestic badminton circuit up and running and should not have pulled out. He said given the attitude of the top Asian players, it is quite likely that they will also pull out of the Denmark Open 2020.
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