The fate of the Malaysian Open squash championships is now in the hands of the federal government.
The Squash Racquets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) have already pushed back the dates of the tournament to October due to Covid-19 restrictions in the country.
Tentatively, the Malaysian Open will be held on Oct 26-30, after the SRAM PSA tournament on Oct 6-9.
Initially, both tournaments were supposed to be held in September.
But with different areas in the country entering the National Recovery Plan (NRP) at different phases, a lot is still up in the air in regard to hosting international competitions.
"Selangor and Kuala Lumpur are in Phase 1 of the NRP, and that has made things trickier for us," explained SRAM director Major (Rtd) S. Maniam.
"It is because both the SRAM PSA meet and the Malaysian Open are open to foreign players.
"We need to see if there are any travel restrictions and whether these foreign players need to undergo mandatory quarantine.
"We had to move both tournaments to October as players were not training regularly due to Covid restrictions.
"However, we have applied to the government for approval, and hopefully, we'll get a clearer direction soon.
"If we do not get approval for the Malaysian meet, then it will have to be postponed while the SRAM PSA event will become a domestic competition."
The national players will return to training in Bukit Jalil on Aug 25.