Coronavirus pandemic: Orleans Masters Badminton 2020 latest event to get cancelled due to COVID19 scare

Orleans Masters badminton tournament later this month, where six Indians were to participate, was on Friday cancelled due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, joining a growing list of Olympic qualifying events which were affected by the deadly disease. “Due to the latest government and federal decisions, we are announcing that the 2020 edition of the Orleans Masters has been cancelled,” Orleans Masters Badminton said in a tweet.

The $90,000 BWF Tour Super 100 tournament, which was scheduled to be held in Orleans, France from 24 to 29 March, is the latest badminton event to be affected following the postponement of China Masters (25 February to 1 March), Vietnam International Challenge (24-29 March), German Open (3 to 8 March) and Polish Open (26-29 March). Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram, Subhankar Dey, Kiran George, Siddharth Pratap Singh, Chirag Sen, Mithun Manjunath were part of the draw in the tournament. There were also reports of the postponement of $408,000 Singapore Open World Tour Super 500 tournament, the last event in the Olympic qualification period which ends on 28 April. The $400,000 India Open Super 500 event is also under threat due to the coronavirus pandemic after Delhi government decided to ban all sports activities in the national capital for a month. There is no clarity so far about the visa processing of the foreign players who are participating in the India Open with the government on Wednesday night issuing a revised travel advisory, suspending all existing visas, except diplomatic and employment, till 15 April. Follow LIVE updates on coronavirus pandemic here