China is set to host its first international badminton tournament since 2019, with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announcing on Thursday that the flagship BWF World Tour Finals is heading back to Guangzhou from December 11 to 18, later this year. "The famed red courts of Tianhe Stadium will welcome the top eight players and pairs in each category at the season-ending finale as they compete for their share of the biggest prize pool ever seen in badminton - US $1.5 million," BWF said in a official release.
BWF Secretary General Thomas Lund said it was a positive step for the sport to see elite level badminton in China once again. "The HSBC BWF World Tour Finals is one of our most lucrative tournaments of the year and we're excited to partner with the Chinese Badminton Association, Guangzhou City Government, and our principal partner HSBC, to bring the Finals back to Guangzhou," Thomas said in a official statement released by BWF. "We also thank the government of China for extending its invitation to the world's top badminton players and we remain confident that our Hosts will deliver a spectacular Finals event with the highest standard of player safety and comfort.
Guangzhou has staged two spectacular editions of the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals in 2018 and 2019 and we look forward to putting on another grand show for our loyal fans in China," he further added.
Upcoming tournaments in October and November now pose as the final opportunity for players to qualify for Guangzhou, with Thomas Lund confirming the VICTOR China Open 2022 (Super 1000) and Fuzhou China Open 2022 (Super 750) had been cancelled.