Badminton’s World Junior Championship cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic

The 2020 World Junior Badminton Championship, which was postponed to be held in New Zealand in January, was on Thursday cancelled as a result of restrictions and uncertainty ensuing from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The competitors was initially deliberate for September-October however was pushed to January amid the raging pandemic.

“…the entry restrictions in place and complexities related to the COVID-19 situation makes it impossible for the event to be planned and therefore hosted in New Zealand in January 2021 as currently scheduled,” stated Badminton World Federation (BWF) Secretary General Thomas Lund.

“With a host for the 2021 already in place…and the uncertainty of the COVID-19 situation expected to stretch into next year, postponement was not an option,” learn the BWF assertion.

However, Badminton New Zealand are nonetheless dedicated to internet hosting the BWF World Junior Championships and the BWF has accepted a proposal for them to stage the 2024 version as a alternative for the version misplaced.

Hosts for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 championships had been already awarded by BWF Council in 2018, making 2024 the following obtainable 12 months. The BWF expressed remorse to the gamers who can be affected.

“We appreciate that some junior players will turn 19 years old in 2021 and unfortunately miss out on a BWF World Junior Championships experience. We can only encourage them to continue to develop their talent as badminton athletes and start to enter open international events.

“It has been a difficult and extraordinary year during the pandemic but we all look forward to a more consistent junior international badminton calendar in 2021 and the next BWF World Junior Championships in China in October 2021,” stated Lund.