Dubai: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has postponed the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals that were initially scheduled to be held in Denmark in the last week of May.
Earlier this week, the BWF announced the postponement of the biennial event for the second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The world governing body has now decided to host the global badminton showpiece team championships from October 3 to 11 in Aarhus, Denmark.
The tournament was originally scheduled to be held from May 16-24, but was last month postponed for the first time to August 15-23 considering the worsening global health crisis and unavailability of flights from around the world for the participants.
Earlier this week, the Malaysia-based BWF postponed the tournament once again saying it was not possible to hold the event any time before September.
In a statement released, the world governing body noted: “Following the Danish Government’s decision on April 6 to extend a ban on larger gatherings in Denmark until the end of August, both parties agreed that it was no longer feasible to stage the championships on the re-scheduled dates of August 15-23.”
“The BWF in consultation and consensus with Badminton Denmark (tournament organisers), Sport Event Denmark and the local Aarhus government concluded that a move to October was the best solution,” the statement added.
Former player and now general secretary of the BWF, Thomas Lund assured that the health and safety of all is of prime importance. “Our main priority is the health, safety and well-being of athletes, staff, volunteers, judges and the entire badminton community. We listened to the advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO), various health experts, local authorities and the Danish Government and it became clear that hosting a big event like the Total BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals before September would be difficult,” Lund said.
Officially known as the Total BWF Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, this will be the 31st edition of the Thomas Cup and the 28th edition of the Uber Cup. The Thomas and Uber Cup Finals is the biennial international badminton championship contested by the men’s and women’s national teams of the BWF member associations.
The 2020 edition, scheduled to be played at the Ceres Arena in Aarhus, Denmark, will be the first time that Denmark will be hosting this international competition since England played host to the event, way back in 1982. China are the defending champions in the men’s section, while Japan will be defending their crown in the women’s category.
