The proposed Asian Walking Championships that was to be held on March 15 in Japan has been canceled due to the risk of infection with the coronavirus. Additionally, two squash contests- the Asian team championship in Malaysia and the Asian junior individual championship in China have also been suspended due to the virus threat.
It has been said that the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) decided to cancel the event after they received a request from the Federation of Japan.
Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Asian Athletics Association said in a statement, “After due consideration and approval from the AAA Council, I confirm that Asian 20km Race Walking Championships has been canceled.”
Further, giving more information about the situation Hamad said, “In view of the COVID-19, the Government of Japan has proposed for the higher alert. All major events in the country has been canceled or delayed. Japan Association of Athletics Federation has requested to cancel the Championships.”
13 Indian players were to participate in this event in Japan. Bhavana Jat, who qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, was to lead the Indian challenge in the event to be held in Nomi city. Japan has reported 1000 cases of infection so far with 11 deaths.
On the other hand, in squash, the Asian team championship which was to be held from 25 to 29 March in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Asian junior individual championship was to be held in Qingdao, China from 29 June to 3 July, were postponed after Annual General Meeting of the Asian Squash Federation. The new dates for both these tournaments will be announced later.
Prestigious competitions like the Formula One’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, Asian Boxing Qualifiers, World Table Tennis Championships World Rugby Sevens Series, Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament are some of the sporting events which have been postponed or shifted due to the coronavirus outbreak.
It is to be noted that the outbreak of novel coronavirus has affected a lot of sporting events so far. Many sports competitions have been canceled, postponed, or shifted in the past due to the deadly coronavirus. The virus has killed more than 3000 people worldwide and infected more than 86000 people.
