India Open 2020 Tournament may take place behind closed doors
The India Open 2020 badminton tournament,which is scheduled to take place from MArch 24 to March 29 at New Delhi,may be played without spectators due to coronavirus scare.
The Badminton World federation(BWF) and Badminton Association of India(BAI)confirmed the decision after BAI consulted experts over the past few days regarding advisories issued by the health authorities in India.
"Enhanced precautionary measures will be in place to ensure the welfare and safety of players,their entourage,and officials,"BAI said in a statement.
"This includes the likelihood of the tournament being staged behind dosed doors without spectators,"the statement further read.
The tournament is a super 500 event on the BWF World Tour and falls within the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifying period.
The BWF is monitoring all official updates on COVID-19 with no change to the intention to stage other BWF World Tour at this stage.
Earlier in the day the government said that the total number of COVID-19 cases in India has jumped to 60.
