Delay in German Open puts hold on Indian players' qualification for Olympics

Threat of coronavirus looms large over German Open super BWF 300 tournament which is scheduled from 3 March to 8 March. The tournament is likely to be postponed and if it does Indian shuttlers will be in trouble as their Olympic chances will jeopardized.

Mulheim the city due to host of the tournament has concerns over spread of coronavirus.

"The Badminton world federation (BWF) can confirm that the Yonex German Open 2020 to be staged in Mulheim an der Ruhr next week will no longer take place on its scheduled dates of 3-8 March. The city of Mulheim took the decision on 26th (February) morning in line with its own rules and over the covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak," BWF said in a statement

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It is will be difficult for the Indian shuttlers who are already struggling to qualify for the Olympics to be in top-16.

Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal are ranked 21 and 22 respectively in the world. They need to make the cut of top-16 to be a part of the India's Olympic squad.

Both Saina Nehwal has been struggling with her form since mid 2019 (Image: Amar Ujala)

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Meanwhile, Polish open scheduled from 26 March to 29 March is also postponed by Polish Badminton Association according to report in Times of India. Polish Open is an International challenge which is also an Olympic qualifying event.