The German and Polish Open badminton tournaments have been postponed due to concerns over the Covid-19 outbreak – further reducing the number of Olympic qualifiers.

The German Open and Polish Open were scheduled to be held from March 3 to 8 in Mulheim and from March 26 to 29 in Krakow respectively, but on Wednesday (Feb 26), the Badminton World Federation confirmed that both hosts had postponed the tournaments.

Both German and Polish Opens are Olympic qualifying tournaments.

The one-year Olympic qualifying period for badminton ends on April 30.

A few other tournaments, scheduled in February, have already been postponed and shuttlers are now left with fewer events in order to qualify for the summer event in Tokyo.