Lausanne, January 25: The Asian/Oceanian Tokyo 2020 boxing qualifying event, which was cancelled in China following the coronavirus outbreak that has claimed several lives in Wuhan, will now be held in Jordan.
The IOC Boxing Task Force (BTF) announced on Friday that the qualifiers, which were originally scheduled to be held from February 3 to 14 in Wuhan, will now be held at the Sport City in Amman from March 3-11. Coronavirus Outbreak: Preeti Maheshwari, First Indian to Have Contracted Mysterious Virus in China, Needs Rs 1 Crore For Treatment.
"The event, originally planned to take place in Wuhan, China, from February 3-14, was rescheduled after the joint decision by the BTF and the Chinese Olympic Committee to cancel the competition due to the developments regarding the coronavirus outbreak reported in the Chinese city," said an IOC statement.
"After a careful review of all alternatives, the BTF approved the proposal of the Jordan Olympic Committee today, in order to confirm the competition dates and location as soon as possible, in the best interest of the athletes preparing for the qualifier." Coronavirus Outbreak: China Virus Death Toll Jumps to 41, Cases Soar to Nearly 1,300.
On Thursday, the Indian Olympic Association had also requested Morinari Watanabe, the chairman of the International Olympic Committees Task Force for Boxing, to consider the Boxing Federation of India's (BFI) offer to host the Olympic qualification event in India.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 25, 2020 11:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).