With new Tokyo Olympics dates clashing, BWF looking for suitable alternatives for 2021 Worlds

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is in talks with hosts Spain to reschedule the 2021 World Championships after the Tokyo Olympics were pushed to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Huelva, a city in south-west Spain, is scheduled to host the 2021 Badminton World Championships in August but with the Tokyo Games now rescheduled from 23 July to 8 August, BWF is looking for alternatives.

“BWF is aware of the need to reschedule the World Championships 2021 normally staged in August with suitable alternatives being discussed with hosts Spain,” the governing body said in a statement.

World Championships is an annual event with the exception of the Olympic year. P V Sindhu had won the World Championships title at Basel, Switzerland in 2019.

The BWF has suspended all tournaments until 12 April due to the pandemic.

These tournaments include big-ticket events like BWF India Open (Super 500), Malaysia Open (Super 750) and the Singapore Open (Super 500), apart from the three Continental Confederation championships.

The world body also said it is looking to freeze the world rankings of the badminton players following the postponement of the Olympics