This tournament might be in some danger. New case numbers are increasing and more restrictions have been placed on people movement recently.
The decision doesn't rely on them, but this is positive news. https://www.malaymail.com/news/spor...ly-with-sops-in-hosting-of-malaysia-o/1971084 Hopefully it will be green lit. I expect more news to come out within the next few days if there's any major changes.
I think there’s pressure for it to go ahead due to national interest. Malaysian athletes need the Olympic ranking points.
Yes, but unfortunately, this lies in the hands of the government for the well being of everyone since it's a risk to have a tournament during a pandemic. I'm sure they would want to avoid a big outbreak such as in the European Championships, where things definitely could've gotten worse. As this article states, https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/170835/zii-jia-hoping-for-confidence-boosting-performance/ , this will all depend what the government's final decision is regarding the SOP (standard operating procedures) will be for players entering the tournament. The hope is that the requirements stay as is, as an extension of the quarantine may see the withdrawals of some players, and would mean that they will have to change their flights and depart within the next few days. Edit: As of now, there will be a mandatory 14 day quarantine, unless the government is willing to grant an exception for the event.
CELCOM AXIATA Malaysia Open 2021 Postponed Friday, May 7, 2021 TEXT BY BWF STAFF Tournament organisers Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) and Badminton World Federation have jointly agreed to postpone the CELCOM AXIATA Malaysia Open 2021, scheduled for 25-30 May 2021. All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all participants, but the recent surge in cases left no choice but to postpone the tournament. The CELCOM AXIATA Malaysia Open 2021 is a Super 750 event on the HSBC BWF World Tour and was originally scheduled as an Olympic qualifying tournament. BWF can confirm the rescheduled tournament will no longer take place in the Olympic qualifying window. New tournament dates will be confirmed at a later date. _________ *This tournament has been postponed twice, no big surprise if it'll be cancelled at the end.