Kuala Lumpur: Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Monday announced the 2023 and 2024 badminton calendar with Paris Olympic qualification starting with Sudirman Cup until Continental Championships the following year.
The seasons will start with the newly elevated Super 1000 Malaysia Open and Super 750 India Open, the appointed season openers for the next two years.
The 31-event new World Tour calendar, which includes the year-end BWF World Tour Finals, will see an increased number of Super 1000, Super 750, and Super 500 tournaments interspersed throughout the season, the sports world governing body said.
In 2023, the Sudirman Cup Finals in China and the World Championships in Denmark will anchor the rest of the program as players prioritize qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Race to Paris Olympic Qualification begins on May 1, 2023, with the Sudirman Cup Finals 2023 the first eligible ranking tournament within that period.
The qualification will run until April 28, 2024, with the Race to Paris ranking lists as of April 30, 2024, used to determine the initial list of qualifiers.
A host for the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals will be announced at a later date. BWF Tour Super 100 hosts will also be announced separately, BWF said.
BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said: “More Super 1000, Super 750, and Super 500 World Tour tournaments enable us to commit to higher prize money, increased player opportunities, greater coverage on television and online, and spectacular presentation, all contributing to an enhanced world-class sports product that we seek.
“We also feel we no longer require cluster tournaments previously introduced to negate the complexities of Covid-19 travel. This will help to ease some of the stresses on players and teams, giving them more freedom to pick and choose the events they play as they plan their all-important Paris 2024 qualification run.”
