Kuala Lumpur, Apr 6 (IANS): The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced on Monday the suspension of tournaments scheduled for May, June and July amid the current COVID-19 situation.

The events affected include the several BWF World Tour events headlined by the Blibli Indonesia Open 2020 (Super 1000) and a number of Grade 3, junior and para badminton competitions, the world governing body of badminton said in a statement, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic globally has led all parties to confirm the suspension of these tournaments. The health, safety and wellbeing of all athletes, their entourages, officials and the greater badminton community remains the top priority," it said.

BWF has suspended tournaments since mid-March. BWF has also announced the freezing of the world rankings and world junior rankings until further notice. It is also reviewing the impact of rescheduling the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games based on the qualification system.

They had said they were working with organisers in Spain's Huelva to find a new time slot, after the 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The postponement of the Olympic Games has caused widespread disruption to the sporting calendar in 2021. World Athletics has already confirmed it will push back its World Championships to 2022, while the World Aquatics Championships could also be delayed by a year.