Badminton: European C'ships, Swiss Open shelved

This year's European Badminton Championships have been cancelled due to the unavailability of dates in a revamped calendar following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Wednesday.

The tournament, which was originally scheduled for April 21-26 in Kiev, was postponed after the badminton season was suspended in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Badminton Europe and the Ukrainian Badminton Federation will retain the right to host the continental championship next year from April 27-May 2.

With the BWF announcing week 1 to 17 next year as extended Olympic qualification period, the event is likely to count towards qualification for Tokyo Games.

After holding talks with the tournament organisers, the BWF has also cancelled the Swiss Open as it was no longer feasible to include the event in a packed World Tour programme which resumes in September.

The Swiss Open, a Super 300 event on the World Tour, was due to take place from March 17-22.

"There are further changes to the status of badminton tournaments this year with the YONEX Swiss Open 2020 and 2020 European Championships now cancelled," the Badminton World Federation said in a release.

"Both previously carried 'suspended' status until suitable replacement dates could be found."

India's B Sai Praneeth finished runner-up at the 2019 Swiss Open after losing the men's singles final to China's Shi Yuqi.

The World Tour is set to restart with the Taipei Open from September 1-6, while the season-ending World Tour Finals in Guangzhou, China has been pushed back a week and will now finish on December 20.

Last month, the BWF had unveiled a revised international calendar to salvage the remainder of the season, disrupted by the global health crisis.

The apex body had also announced that ranking points earned at tournaments during the original qualification phase will be maintained.

The BWF had earlier frozen the world rankings and made the standings on March 17 as the basis for entry and seedings, when it resumes the international calendar.