NEW DELHI, May 29: The Badminton World Junior Championships to be held in Auckland in September was on Friday rescheduled to January next year because of a disruption-hit international calendar owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed that the World Junior Championships will now be held from January 18 to 24 next year.
The prestigious event will be preceded by the World Junior Mixed Team Championships with the BWF scheduling it from January 11 to 16.
�There are new dates for the BARFOOT & THOMPSON BWF World Junior Championships 2020, which were scheduled to be held in Auckland, New Zealand in September this year,� the BWF said in a release.
�The rescheduled dates for the world events are January 11-24, 2021. Only those athletes eligible for the originally scheduled championships are allowed to enter.
�The new time frame gives the BWF, Badminton New Zealand and tournament organisers the best chance to stage a successful event for the large volume of junior players expected to travel to Auckland.�
BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said it was the �best option� considering how things are currently placed due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has so far claimed more than 3.5 lakh lives worldwide.
�With all things considered, we believe the move is the best option in order to avoid any possible complexities linked to travel and other lingering COVID-19-related impacts,� he said. � PTI
