Virus attack: Wuhan loses boxing Olympic qualifier

The Olympic qualifying event for boxing, scheduled from Feb 3-14 in Wuhan, has been cancelled following the coronavirus outbreak in China.

The IOC’s boxing task force said in a statement that it had “noted the decision of the local organising committee to cancel the Asian/ Oceania Tokyo 2020 Tokyo boxing qualifying event amid growing concerns in relation with the corona virus outbreak reported in the city.”

An alternative venue has not been announced.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has thrown its hat in the ring, opening up the possibility of the qualifiers being shifted to India.

“We had a long discussion with members of the (International Olympic Committee) taskforce on Tuesday over the issue and we have given them the option that Delhi can host it if the event is moved out of China,” Boxing Federation of India (BFI) executive director RK Sacheti, who is part of an expert group set up to advise the taskforce, said.

The coronavirus outbreak originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and has left at least nine people dead and hundreds infected.

WHO meeting

It remains to be seen whether China would be looking to hold the qualifiers in another city. The women’s football qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was also scheduled in Wuhan from Feb 3-9, but was moved to Nanjing in a decision taken on Wednesday.

Sacheti said the taskforce is looking at various options and will also keep an eye on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergency meeting on the outbreak. Besides India, there are reports that the Philippines are also interested in hosting the qualifier. If the taskforce decides to shift it out of China and hold it in India, a team will visit to check the facilities before giving the go-ahead. It will require some effort from the BFI to organise it as time is short.

“We know it will be a big task logistically and the event might have to be postponed,” Sancheti said.

“We said we can hold it on the same dates, but then visa was an issue. We said we can give them e-visas, but even then the process will take some time. The taskforce team will come and see the venue. The equipment and all other paraphernalia will have to be brought in, so it might get postponed by 5-10 days.”

If the qualifiers are shifted to Delhi, it will provide Indian boxers a great opportunity to compete on home turf and seal Olympic berths. The men will contest in eight weight classes and women in five. There will be a second qualification event after this one, a global competition in Paris from May 13-24.

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