Kuala Lumpur: The BWF World Tour Finals 2022 has been shifted from Guangzhou to Bangkok due to current pandemic situation in China, Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced on Tuesday.
The tournament has been relocated to Nimibutr Arena in Bangkok, Thailand and will take place from December 7-11, a week earlier than the scheduled dates for Guangzhou, due to stadium availability and a consequence of the change in location, BWF said.
“BWF in consultation with the Chinese Badminton Association (CBA) agreed to relocate the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 due to the various challenges brought about by the current pandemic situation,” it siad in a statement.
“BWF would also like to thank the Badminton Association of Thailand for providing a replacement location for the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 at such late notice,” it added.
The top eight players and pairs in each category in the BWF World Tour Rankings will be invited to compete, with a maximum of two players or pairs per Member Association being eligible.
The list of athletes qualified for the World Tour Finals will be confirmed on November 22 after the conclusion of the Australian Open, which is scheduled to take place from November 15-20 at Quay Centre in Sydney.