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PETALING JAYA: The race for the World Tour Finals is back.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has confirmed that it will remove an earlier decision requiring players to compete in the European and Asian stages of the remaining World Tour in order to be eligible for the Tour Finals.
The end-of-season event will take place in Bangkok from January 27 to 31 after the completion of three regular tournaments that will include the Danish Open in Odense from October 13 to 18 and two Asian Opens (October 12-17). January and January 19-24). .
This should bring the smile back to many ferries that will not be traveling to Denmark, including several Malays.
Men’s singles ace Lee Zii Jia, Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi (men’s doubles), Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai Jemie and Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing (mixed doubles) are the ones who they are in progress to make the cut of the top eight.
BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said the rule will no longer apply after the Asian legs have been moved to January instead of November.
The BWF intended to relaunch the flagship circuit with five consecutive events in the bubble system.
“There have been changes to the rules,” Lund said at a virtual press conference yesterday.
“Obviously, the rules on participation in all tournaments mainly related to the safety measures of moving athletes from one bubble to the next, which is no longer the case due to the separation of the two legs.
“The rules are now being revised and we will communicate with the players and coaches as soon as possible with the final framework and the technical details on how we are going to run these tournaments and also the qualification for the Finals.”
Lund also explained why the world body decided to continue with the Tour Finals despite having completed only five of the 37 events to date.
The five tournaments were the Thai Masters, the Malaysian Masters and the Indonesian Masters in January, followed by the Spanish Masters in February and the All-England in March.
“Is there really a need (to celebrate the Tour Finals)?” asked Lund.
“I would say that it is not just about needs. We believe this is the best way and a boost for badminton in general, especially for athletes to reach the conclusion of 2020 by playing in the Finals.
“After the tournaments in Denmark and Thailand, we felt it was something important… since, frankly, it has been a difficult year.
“But actually I think being able to host these great Asian stages in Thailand, we feel like it’s probably the best conclusion for the fans, the players and everyone.
“This has to be the best solution and the best for the players and the sport.”
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