Could the coronavirus outbreak threaten the Tokyo 2020 Games? 170 days before opening, the risk seemed very low for a long time. He is no longer. The Japanese make no secret of it: they are worried.
Toshiro Muto, the general director of the organizing committee, came out of his reserve to publicly express his fears this Wednesday, February 5. He took advantage of a project review of the next Paralympic Games, this week in the Japanese capital, to explain: “ We are extremely worried, in the sense that the progress of the epidemic could temper interest and enthusiasm for the Games. I hope this can be eradicated as quickly as possible. We plan to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, the government and the city of Tokyo to address this issue. »
Saburo Kawabuchi, the mayor of the athletes' village, also did not hesitate to publicly discuss the risks of the epidemic directly affecting the Games. “ Today, I can only hope that the Games can take place smoothly and virus-free.”, he suggested.
In recent weeks, the list of international sporting events planned in China and removed from the calendar, or relocated outside the country, has continued to grow. The trend is unlikely to reverse.
The world indoor athletics championships, which were scheduled to take place from March 13 to 15 in Nanjing, have been postponed until next year. The Asian Championships, scheduled for February 12 and 13 in Hangzhou, have been canceled.
In football, the women's Olympic qualifying tournament was moved from Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, to Australia. It must pit China, Australia, Taiwan and Thailand against each other. Its schedule was modified by the organizers after the Chinese team, which landed in Brisbane on January 29, was quarantined.
In tennis, the International Federation (ITF) moved Group I matches from the Asia/Oceania zone of the Fed Cup between China, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Uzbekistan. They were to be contested in Dongguan. They should have finally been played in Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana) in Kazakhstan, from February 4 to 8, but Kazakhstan refused to be designated as a replacement host country.
Cancellations have also increased in badminton (the China Masters in Hainan, from February 25 to March 1), in boxing (Olympic qualifying tournament, scheduled for Wuhan, moved to Amman from March 3 to 11), in basketball ( women's Olympic qualifying tournament, allocated to Foshan but relocated to Belgrade), in golf (Blue Bay tournament of the LPGA circuit, scheduled for March 5 to 8 in Hainan), in alpine skiing (World Cup in Yanqing on February 15 and 16) , or even in cycling (Tour of Hainan canceled).
To date, the 2020 edition of SportAccord, scheduled for April 19 to 24 in Beijing, remains held in the Chinese capital. The GAISF recently assured, through its president, the Italian Raffaele Chiuli, to follow the evolution of the virus very closely and to be ready for any scenario. SportAccord could very soon swell the list of events wiped off the map of China.
