KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Open badminton championships may be called off or staged at a later date following Indonesia’s decision to postpone their annual event. The Indonesian Open had been scheduled for June 22-27, followed by the four-star (US$120,000) Malaysian Open from June 29-July 4 in Kuantan, Pahang. Yesterday, the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) secretary P. Ganga Rao confirmed that the Indonesian Open had been postponed. Although no reason was given, it is believed that the postponement was due to a hectic schedule and the possibility of players skipping the Indonesian Open to concentrate on the Olympic Games in August. Indonesia are also hosting the Thomas-Uber Cup Finals in Jakarta from May 7-16. It may be too soon to host the Grand Prix event in June, especially with country’s general election on as well. The BAM, fearful that top players would not come to this region just for the Malaysian Open, are likely to postpone their meet as well. “Some players may not want to make the trip to this region solely to compete in the Malaysian Open. Usually, they are here to compete in the back-to-back tournaments. We do not want to host the event and get only second stringers. It will be a mockery of this tournament,” said Ganga. He said that the BAM were considering a few options. “If Malaysia also postpone the event, there will be no major Grand Prix tournaments after the Thomas Cup Finals and before the Olympics. Some players may want to have some warm-up matches prior to the Olympics. We will have to get the response from the participating countries before making a decision,” he said. “If the Olympic qualifiers prefer to stay at home, we will not have any choice but to postpone our tournament. But it is unlikely that we are not going to host it.” However, the BAM may find it tough slotting their tournament into another date as the IBF’s calendar is packed with activities. TheStar
