Asian Olympic Wrestling Qualifiers Postponed Indefinitely Over COVID-19 Fears
When contacted, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) said that it is yet to get any official communication from Kyrgyzstan or the sport's global governing body on the matter. "We have sent a letter to UWW and we are waiting for their reply. Until we get any official communication on the matter from the international body we won't be able to take any action,"
New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) The Asian Olympic Qualifiers for wrestling that was to be held from March 27 to 29 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan has been postponed indefinitely so as to fight the spread of coronavirus. The qualifiers had originally been intended to be held in X'ian, China on the same dates before being shifted to Bishkek due to the outbreak of the deadly virus in the country. India Pull Out of Shotgun Shooting World Cup 2020 in Cyprus Due to Novel Coronavirus Threat.
When contacted, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) said that it is yet to get any official communication from Kyrgyzstan or the sport's global governing body -- United World Wrestling (UWW) -- on the matter. "We have sent a letter to UWW and we are waiting for their reply. Until we get any official communication on the matter from the international body we won't be able to take any action," WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar told IANS. Coronavirus Outbreak: Six Countries Pull Out of Shooting World Cup in New Delhi Due to COVID-19 Scare.
But a report in a Kyrgyz news agency confirmed the same. "At an operational meeting led by director of the State Agency Kanat Amankulov, it was decided to postpone a number of major international sports events planned in Kyrgyzstan to later dates," said Kyrgyzstan's State Agency for Youth, Physical Culture and Sports of the Kyrgyz Republic in a notice, according to the agency.
Indian wrestlers who have made it to the team that was to go to Bishkek for the qualifiers will continue their training in foreign countries for the time being, said Tomar. While the freestyle wrestlers are set to train in Makhachkala, Russia, the women wrestlers will be training in Kiev, Ukraine. The Greco Roman wrestlers will be training in Baku, Azerbaijan.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 28, 2020 04:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).