Coronavirus Plays Spoilsport: List of Major Sports Events Affected

The deadly Coronavirus has created havoc in everyday lives and sports ain’t an exception. Here, we have compiled a list of sports events that have been affected due to the virus. That said, Behindwoods stands in solidarity with the Chinese people in these trying times.

Athletics

* The World Athletics Indoor Championships, which had been scheduled for Nanjing from March 13-15, were postponed until next year. A date to host the biennial event in 2021 will be announced in sometime.

* The Asian Athletics Association cancelled its February 12-13 indoor championships in Hangzhou.

Soccer

* Asian Champions League matches involving Chinese clubs Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG have been postponed. Guangzhou and the two Shanghai clubs will now join the competition in April, with their group matches to be played by May-end.

Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG were due to play at Perth Glory and Sydney FC next week but Australian officials sought to reschedule the matches after their government imposed a travel ban on foreign nationals arriving from China.

* A four-team women's Olympic soccer qualifying tournament involving China, Australia, Taiwan and Thailand was moved from Wuhan and rearranged to be held in Australia by the Asian Football Confederation.

Organizers were also forced to change the match schedule after China's team, which arrived in Australia on January 29, was placed in quarantine in Brisbane until after February 5.

* The Chinese Football Association said domestic games at all levels would be postponed.

Formula E

* The all-electric Formula E motor racing series abandoned plans for a race in Sanya, China, on March 21.

The move puts Formula One in the spotlight, with Shanghai due to host the Chinese Grand Prix on April 19.

Tennis

* The International Tennis Federation moved the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group I event featuring China, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Uzbekistan out of Dongguan to Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana) in Kazakhstan.

But the February 4-8 event was later postponed

Badminton

* The February 25 to March 1 China Masters tournament in Hainan was postponed after several players withdrew. The Badminton World Federation said it hoped the flagship Badminton Asia Championships could still go ahead in Wuhan from April 21-26.

Boxing

* The International Olympic Committee announced Jordan as hosts of the boxing qualifiers for Asia and Oceania after an event in Wuhan was cancelled. It will now take place in Amman from March 3 to 11.

Basketball

* The International Basketball Federation moved the February 6-9 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers to be held in Foshan to Belgrade.

Golf

* The elite women's LPGA golf tour cancelled the March 5-8 Blue Bay tournament to be held in Hainan.

* The sixth edition of the Hong Kong Ladies Open, scheduled to take place from February 28-March 1, was postponed to May 8-10.

Equestrian

* The February 14-16 Longines Masters of Hong Kong show-jumping leg was cancelled.

Alping Skiing

* Skiing's governing body cancelled the February 15-16 World Cup in Yanqing.

X-games

* The first winter X-Games scheduled to be held in China, in Hebei province from February 21-23, was postponed.

Futsal

* The Asian Football Confederation Futsal Championship that was scheduled to be held in Turkmenistan between February 26 to March 8 has been postponed, with new dates to be announced when the situation stabilizes.

Courtesy: Reuters