The Coronavirus outbreak has morphed into a global pandemic with thousands confirmed cases in 16 countries all over the world despite Chinese government’s attempts to contain it.
As the normal life in biggest chine metropolitans has come to a standstill, all routine and sports events have also been disrupted.
A number of sports events and tournaments which have been cancelled include:
World Athletics Indoor Championships
The 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing have been postponed due to fears over spread of coronavirus. The Championships were scheduled from 13-15 march but now have been pushed back by 12 months by the organizers.
A statement by the World Athletics attributed the postponement to a travel advisory issued by the WHO – World Health Organization and concerns expressed by athletes and local federations.
Ski World Cup
The upcoming men’s Alpine Ski World Cup on the Beijing 2022 course in Yanqing has also been cancelled due to outbreak of virus. International Ski Federation and Chinese Ski Association announced in a joint statement that the skiing event scheduled for February 15-16 has been moved from China to Austria.
Football Events
Chinese authorities have announced the suspension of a number of domestic and international football events including the top-flight Chinese Super League season kick-off scheduled for 22nd February.
The Asian Football Confederation has moved a all the home matches of Chinese clubs to away venues rescheduling them for later dates in February and March however no venue has been announced as of yet.
Women’s Olympics qualifying event between China, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia scheduled from 3rd-9th February in Wuhan, the center of corona virus have been moved to Sydney. Chinese team were subjected to a mandatory quarantine on arrival in Brisbane for the qualifiers.
Boxing Olympics Qualifiers
All qualification events for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been shifted from Wuhan to Amman, Jordan and have been rescheduled from March 3-11.
Basketball Olympics Qualifiers
A four-side qualifying championship between China, Spain, South Korea and Great Britain has been moved from Southern Chinese city of Foshan to Belgrade from 6th – 9th February.
Diving World Series
The International Swimming Federation has confirmed the cancellation of the Chinese leg of the Diving World Series scheduled for 7th-9th March in Beijing.
Meanwhile another aquatics event, the World Series of synchronized swimming is also likely to be postponed or moved away from Chinese city of Suzhou.
Cycling Tour of Hainan
The second-grade Pro Series scheduled from February 23 to March 21 in the southern island city of Hainan has been cancelled due to health concerns posed by the coronavirus. The ICU – International Cycling Union announced the decision via a statement saying that event will be rescheduled for later dates of 2020.
2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games
As the coronavirus turns into a global epidemic, its disruption potential has also been growing exponentially putting a number of global sports in jeopardy. The most significant sports event to be threatened is the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics games. Already a number of qualifiers for the biggest athletics even have been cancelled or postponed raising the concerns of much-anticipated summer games being delayed or cancelled.
