BWF mulls postponing Malaysia Open matches due to flooded courts

KUALA LUMPUR – The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is considering postponing the remaining matches on the opening day of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 if the courts are not dried before 9pm today.

The badminton body’s response came after matches were disrupted when the roof at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil began leaking, allowing rainwater to enter the courts mid-match.

BWF events director Selvaamresh Supramaniam expressed disappointment over the leakage issue on the first day of the tournament and assured that shuttlers would be informed and updated on any changes to the tournament schedule.

“Of course, we are disappointed with what has happened, and I have never encountered anything like this in my 18 years of managing tournaments.

“At this point, we have no choice but to rely on just one court out of three, which will definitely disrupt the flow of the tournament. We will wait for the courts to dry and allow time until 9pm, as we do not want to proceed with matches until late hours, say, until 1am.

“The players need adequate rest, and we do not want them to experience a hectic schedule, so we need to plan their schedule after discussing this matter with our officials.

“At worst, we may have to inform the players and coaches that the matches might be postponed until tomorrow if the courts are still not ready. But so far, nothing is confirmed,” said Selvaamresh during a press conference.

The roof leakage at Axiata Arena due to the heavy downpour disrupted the match between national women’s doubles pair Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing against China’s Jia Yi Fan and Zhang Shu Xian on Court 2. Officials were forced to stop the match and clean the court with rags.

The Chinese pair had to play in the rain for nearly three minutes before the officials postponed the game. At the time of the suspension, the Chinese pair was leading 11-10 in the first set against the Malaysians.

The leak at the arena also affected Court 3, where Canadian shuttler Brian Yang was playing against India’s H.S. Prannoy in the men’s singles.

However, the situation did not disrupt the pace of Prannoy, who comfortably won the first set 21-12 and was leading 6-3 in the second set when the game was postponed. – January 7, 2025