KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — The Malaysia Open will be among the top-tier tournaments in the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) World Tour calendar from 2023 to 2026.
BWF announced that the Malaysia Open had been upgraded from World Tour Super 750 to Super 1000 in its calendar, joining the elite club of All England, China Open, and Indonesia Open.
Apart from that, the India Open and Singapore Open have now been lifted into Super 750 status, while existing Super 750 tournaments in China, Denmark, France, and Japan have maintained their status.
Australia, Canada, and Finland have joined tournaments in Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia (Masters), Thailand, and a new one in Japan for the Super 500 tours.
However, the hosts for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals will only be announced at a later date, while Super 100 hosts will be announced separately.
BWF secretary-general Thomas Lund said the announcement capped an exciting bidding process, which saw healthy interest from all host bidders, and believed it would elevate the status of badminton globally.
“Badminton is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world with an all-time high participation and fan numbers. More tournaments give us a fantastic opportunity to enhance the sport’s reach around the world, not only in established territories, but into new ones as well.
“We were very encouraged by the large number of high-quality bids we received and that bodes well for a bigger and better tour across the next four years. It allows for more players to enter our elite circuit and gain valuable experience.
“It enables us to commit to higher prize money, greater coverage on television and online, and spectacular presentation, all contributing to an enhanced world-class sports product that we seek,” he said in a statement.
The Malaysia Open, hosted annually since 1937 with a few exceptions, has been categorised as Super 750 since 2018.
After having been halted by Covid-19 for the past two years, the 2022 Malaysia Open has been scheduled to be held from June 28 to July 3, followed by the Malaysia Masters from July 5-10. Both tournaments will be held at the Axiata Arena.
— Bernama
