THE Asian leg of the World Tour in January will be a closely contested event, said national mixed doubles coach Paulus Firman.
The Indonesian does not think players who have competed in the recent European leg (Denmark Open) will have too much of an advantage over those who have not played competitive badminton for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I don't think playing in the Denmark Open or even the SaarLorLux Open will give any of the players too much of an advantage," he said.
"That's because most of the top players from Asia did not make the trip to Europe. And these are the players who will play in Bangkok.
"If you recall, top players from Indonesia, China, Thailand and some from Japan have yet to play in any tournament either.
"As for the ones who did compete in Europe, they were not really tested, and two tournaments would hardly make any difference."
He said the shuttlers' training intensity has been increased to better prepare them for three back-to-back tournaments in Thailand (two Super 1000 events and World Tour Finals).
The two BAM mixed doubles who have been registered for the tournaments are World No 8 Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing and World No 10 Goh Soon Huat-Shevon Lai.
Following the extension of the Conditional Movement Control Order from Nov 9-Dec 6, BAM have yet to finalise the dates and venues for the internal mixed team championships and National Championships.
Originally, the mixed team championships were slated for Nov 26-29 and the National Championships in Johor early next month. It is learnt that both tournaments could take place next month.