More badminton tournaments are coming our way. The sequence started from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics held in August and continued with a European tour starting from the Sudirman Cup in Vantaa, Finland, on September 26th to October 3rd, 2021. After that, Denmark hosted the two Thomas and Uber Cup tournaments (9-17 October 2021). The three back-to-back tournaments were then continued by three top-level tournaments, namely the Denmark Open in Odense from the 19th-24th October, the France Open in Paris from the 26th-31st October, and it culminated with the Hylo Open in Saarbrucken, Germany, on the 2nd-7th November 2021.
With the Covid-19 pandemic getting more under control, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) opened the door to another round of tournaments. It’s important to note, however, that the health protocol rules will still be enforced. After the European tour, the world's top badminton players will continue to compete in Asia.
Indonesia is the first stop. In fact, three events will be held in one place on the island of Bali. The area, which is nicknamed the Island of the Gods because of its natural beauty and culture, will host three prestigious events. The first one will be the Indonesia Masters, held on November 16-2. It is a tournament that provides a total prize of USD $600,000 and is included in the Super 750. After that, there is the Indonesia Open held on November the 23rd-28th. The Super 1000 tournament will have a total prize worth USD $850,000. Lastly, there will be the BWF World Tour Finals on December 1st-5th.
Unfortunately, not all world-class badminton players will take part. China won’t send any of their athletes. It surely will make the tournaments not as exciting without China’s top seeds such as Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist pair Zheng Si Wei/Huang Ya Qiong and women’s singles player Chen Yu Fei.
However, China’s absence is not a guarantee that the host Indonesia will be victorious. In the last three European tournaments, Indonesia didn’t perform very well. It was only Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in men's doubles who were able to win the Hylo Open. Meanwhile, the other Indonesia’s top seeds didn’t make it to the championship podium.
All badminton players who will compete in Bali will have to fight their own tiredness. Since the Sudirman Cup, they’ve barely had enough rest time. We hope that the players can get into their best shape in order to compete in these next few tournaments in Bali, Indonesia.
