The fate of the Malaysia Open, scheduled to take place from May 25 to 30, will be known by this weekend as the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed discussions with relevant agencies.

BAM president Norza Zakaria said the national body had been in talks with the National Security Council, Ministry of Health, Youth & Sports and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to decide if the tournament should go ahead as planned.

“We will get some indication within 24 to 48 hours. I know things are getting a bit more difficult at the moment because a lot of things are beyond our control.

"Not just issues on the spike in COVID-19 cases here, but other countries are also experiencing the same situation,” he said on Thursday, after signing a one-year deal worth RM5 million with healthcare providers BP HealthCare.

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The surge in COVID-19 cases resulted in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur being placed under a new Movement Control Order, meaning if the tournament goes ahead it will be without spectators.

The original plan was to include fans at some capacity, using the Proof Of Concept method which saw football fans allowed back into stadiums for the ongoing Malaysian Football League.

The draw for the tournament was already conducted, with world number one Kento Momota scheduled to face India’s K.Srikanth and Lee Zii Jia taking on Liew Daren in the men’s singles opening round.

As it stands, the Indian contingent’s participation for the Super 750 events is in doubt, due to the Malaysian government's ban on all flights from India.

The Badminton Association of India, however, remains hopeful and is awaiting response from the BWF.

The 14-day quarantine ruling also means that should the tournament go ahead, all competing shuttlers must arrive in the country by May 10.

The Malaysia Open and Singapore Open (June 1-6) are the two final events offering qualifying points for the Tokyo Olympics in July.