Asian Olympic Wrestling Qualifiers 2020: Event may be scrapped or venue shifted from China, final decision in 15 days

What the story?

The Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Wrestling, which was scheduled to take place in China's Xi'an from March 27-29, may be cancelled due to the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

The Background

The coronavirus has put has already dented China's sports calender to a great extent. The group of viruses is known to cause diseases in mammals and birds. The coronavirus is not usually deadly for humans as it causes respiratory infections such as common cold which are mild in nature.

However, the rarer forms of the Virus can cause Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) that can be fatal. The outbreak is severe now and is known to have infected over 4500 people worldwide, killing over 100 in China alone. The epicentre of the outbreak is Wuhan, which is 780km from Xi'an but United World Wrestling (UWW) are keen on taking all the precautionary steps.

A majority of the sporting events that are scheduled in China in the coming 60 days are being moved to an alternative venue in another country. The other events on the brink of cancellation include Formula One’s Shanghai Grand Prix which is scheduled in May.

Meanwhile, the Olympic boxing qualifiers were shifted from Wuhan to Amman in Jordan by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Furthermore, Tokyo Olympics 2020 women’s basketball qualifiers were moved from Foshan, Guangdong to Belgrade in Serbia. The diving World Series had its China leg scheduled from March 7-9 in Beijing but that too stands cancelled.

The heart of the matter

The Asian Olympic Qualifiers has 2 quota places in each of the 18 Olympic Categories in Greco-Roman, Men's Freestyle, and Women wrestling. Many Indian wrestlers were set to vie for the quota places in the qualification event in a bid to book their ticket to Tokyo.

Four of the top Indian wrestlers - namely Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Deepak Punia, and Ravi Kumar Dahiya - have already qualified for Tokyo Olympics 2020 that is slated to begin on July 24.

The Asian Olympic Qualifiers may follow suit like the other events in China by shifting the venue for the event but as of now, it is in limbo. The UWW President Nenad Lalović told Agence France-Presse,

"We will take a decision within 15 days. We are following the situation closely and we are in close contact with the Chinese federation and local authorities."

The President further added that there is a possibility of shifting the tournament, which is the qualifying event for Tokyo Olympics 2020, out of China. The likely replacements have been identified as South Korea, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Lalovic also said that the Chinese wrestlers will have to spend a period "in quarantine" if they are to compete in the event.

In case the event is cancelled, it will be the second such wrestling qualifier for Tokyo Olympics 2020 to be called off. The Oceania Wrestling Championships that were scheduled from 30th January to 1st February in American Samoa’s capital Pago Pago were also cancelled. This event was called off due to the outbreak of measles in neighbouring Samoa.

What's next?

The UWW authorities will soon take the decision about the Asian leg of Tokyo Olympics 2020 Wrestling qualifiers. The welfare of the sportspersons will be the top priority and be given due consideration.