KUALA LUMPUR: Once again the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals have been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) confirmed today that the world men’s and women’s team events will no longer be held on Aug 15-23 in Aarhus, Denmark but on Oct 3-11 instead.

This comes after the Danish government decided to extend the ban on large gatherings on April 6 to the end of August.

BWF said the postponement was the best solution, after consulting with Badminton Denmark and tournament organisers, Sport Event Denmark.

“Our main priority is the health, safety and wellbeing of athletes, staff, volunteers, judges and the entire badminton community.

“We listened to the advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO), various health experts, local authorities and the Danish government, and it became clear that hosting a big event like the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals before September would be difficult.

“We are confident that we can stage a safe and successful championships on the new dates (Oct 3-11) while all the time monitoring the situation closely should things change again,” said BWF secretary general, Thomas Lund.

Initially, the Thomas and Uber Cups were scheduled on May 16-24, but growing concerns over the coronavirus that has killed more than 200,000 people worldwide, forced organisers to put the tournaments on hold.

BWF have also postponed all tournaments up to June on the World Tour calendar, and have frozen the world rankings.