Badminton officials cancel Hong Kong Open over city’s strict coronavirus policy, move tournament to September 2023
- Tournament was expected to be held from November 8 to 13 at the Hong Kong Coliseum
- Officials cite need for closed loop as reason behind decision to cancel event
Badminton officials have opted to cancel this year’s Hong Kong Open because of the city’s strict approach to the coronavirus.
The tournament, which was expected to run from November 8 to 13 at the city’s Coliseum venue, has now been moved to September next year.
In a statement, the Hong Kong Badminton Association said that it had been left with no option but to cancel the event, because of the need for players to isolate on arrival, which they did not have to do in the rest of the world.
“The HKBA has been proactively working with the Badminton World Federation [BWF] and government authorities in recent months to strive for the resumption of the Hong Kong Open Badminton Championships in accordance with the government’s anti-epidemic measures,” the governing body said.
“Although the government updated its isolation and quarantine arrangements in early August, over 400 overseas players and officials are required to train and compete for eight to 10 days in the form of an isolation bubble.
“Since the Covid-19 protocol and quarantine arrangements between Hong Kong and other World Tour events are different, the board of the HKBA regretfully decided that there is no viable option other than to cancel the Hong Kong Open 2022.”