Yonex India Open 2021 to be played behind closed doors from May 11

Some of the top shuttlers around the world are set to feature at the Yonex India Open 2021. The event will be held behind closed doors at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi from May 11-16 due to the rising COVID-19 cases again in India.

The event will see top players like Kento Momota and Rio Olympics Gold Medallist Carolina Marin in action. It is also a very important event as it is an Olympics qualifier. The annual tournament is considered as a BWF World Tour Super 500 event and will be one of the last qualifying events for the Tokyo Olympics. Therefore the fans will be very excited to see their favourite shuttlers battle it out.

Due to the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases in India the tournament will be conducted in a biosecure bubble and will be played behind closed doors maintaining all the government protocols. The players and the officials from South Africa, Brazil, Middle East and Europe who will be part of this annual event will be going through a mandatory seven-day quarantine and will have to report on May 3 at New Delhi. While players and officials from other countries may report on May 6 and will be allowed to undergo a four-day quarantine.

The Delhi Government along with the Badminton Association of India will be working together to make it smooth sailing for everyone involved in the event. Organising Secretary and General Secretary of BAI, Ajay Singhania said, “We are really happy to finally be able to resume badminton action and host such top shuttlers from across the world. But with the recent spike in cases, we have to be more cautious. Players’ safety has always been of prime importance and this tournament will be no different. We will be implementing and following strict COVID-19 protocols and guidelines as shared by the Government of India and the Delhi Government.”

“BAI understands spectators have been an integral part of our growth story but this year despite it being an Olympic qualifier and an array of star shuttlers in action, we have to take the decision of conducting the tournament in a bio-bubble. We hope fans and media will understand the challenges and support us. We will be using all our digital handles to broadcast and interact with fans and bring the players and fans much closer.”

The event will see top players like Carolina Marin, PV Sindhu, Akane Yamaguchi and many others in the women contingent. Saina Nehwal will also be featuring in the event. For the Men’s contingent, two-time World Champion Kento Momota will be in action along with defending champion Viktor Axelson and also All England Open champion Zii Jia Lee. Srikanth Kidambi will be leading India’s charge alongside B Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap.