The 2021 BWF World Championship to be held in Huelva, Spain has been postponed from August to November to adjust for a potentially condensed sports calendar, the world governing body announced in a statement on Friday.
The prestigious tournament is now scheduled be held from November 29-December 5.
India’s PV Sindhu is the reigning women’s singles champion. Traditionally, the badminton calendar does not hold World Championships in the year of the Olympic Games but the coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented situations.
BWF said they along with Spanish Badminton Association had already opened discussion with tournament hosts to stage the championships later in the year to ensure ultimate success of the event for players, their entourage and fans.
“The decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games to 23 July to 8 August and 24 August until 5 September 2021 only confirmed this move. The new schedule will allow players to have a clear focus for 2021 in which they will have dual objectives of both the Olympic Games and World Championships,” the statement added.
BWF President Poul-Erik Høyer said changing the BWF World Championships to late November was in the best interests of the sport.
“BWF and Spanish Badminton Federation are confident that the rescheduled championships will be a success. The move allows both the Olympic badminton competition and the World Championships to be conducted with equal fairness for everyone,” Høyer said.
The remainder of the 2021 BWF tournament calendar is yet to be finalised.
A further announcement will be made on the qualifying process for next year’s Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and World Championships, the release added.
