The Malaysia Open opening round was dealt with a big setback after matches at Court 2 & 3 were suspended for several hours at the Axiata Arena after rain leaked onto both courts following heavy downpour.

If contractors are not able to fix the problem at the soonest, the matches from Tuesday could be carried forward to Wednesday.

“We need to know when we can restart, before proceeding to get the matches back on court. Court 2 is the worst, as for Court 3 we hope to restart in an hour. If need be, we will shut down Court 2 and move the matches to Court 1 & 3.

“We will first need to discuss with the referee’s team and decide at which point we suspend play for today and continue tomorrow (Wednesday). That is a possibility,” said Badminton World Federation Senior Tournament Series Manager S. Selvam.

The match at Court 2 featuring Malaysian pair Go Pei Kee-Teoh Mei Xing was suspended at 3.56pm, with action in Court 3 featuring H.S.Prannoy-Brian Yang also halted shortly after.

Malaysia Stadium Board chief executive officer Iliyas Jamil, meanwhile, said the leaking roof has been temporarily covered with canvas.

“We have found the leak source and are in the process of rectifying it. The roof here at the Axiata Arena has been undergoing refurbishment since April last year without the need to close the entire arena.
“But with the rain and wind today, it couldn’t hold up,” he said.