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OLYMPIC GAMES 2020
The 2020 Olympics were postponed until 2021 on March 24, making it one of the last major sporting events this summer to be a victim of the coronavirus.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a crucial conference call with Olympics chief Thomas Bach on Tuesday to formally decide on a plan and they have chosen to postpone it for 12 months.
The decision also means that the Tokyo Paralympic Games will be subject to a one-year delay.
Despite the delay, the name of the delayed Games will remain Tokyo 2020, revealed the city’s governor, Yuriko Koike.
A joint statement by the IOC Organizing Committee and Tokyo 2020 said: ‘In the current circumstances and based on the information provided by WHO today, the President of the IOC and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled for a post-2020 date, but no later than the summer of 2021, to safeguard the health of athletes, everyone involved in the Olympics and the international community.
“The leaders agreed that the Tokyo Olympics could be a beacon of hope for the world during these difficult times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel the world is in today.”
Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will remain in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will retain the name of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. ‘
There was a lot of skepticism about whether the Olympics would take place and continue as scheduled, while the events related to the games were suspended. The Olympic torch relay in Greece was canceled on Friday, March 13, just one day after the flame was lit in Olympia.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed a year due to the coronavirus
Large crowds harassed Hollywood actor Gerard Butler as he lit the cauldron in the Greek city of Sparta despite repeated warnings that viewers should not attend due to the coronavirus.
That forced the Greek Olympic Committee’s decision to stop the torch relay on Greek soil on the second day of its eight-day scheduled trip. It is the only third time that a relay to Athens for the Summer Games has not been completed.
The Olympic flame will continue to be handed over to the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on Thursday March 19, but without the fans present.
Athletes were told to continue training, but many struggled given the government blockade measures implemented.
On Friday, March 13, the suggestion of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to postpone the Tokyo Olympics for a year due to the coronavirus was immediately shot down by the Olympic Minister of Japan.
“The IOC and the organizing committee are not considering the cancellation or a postponement, absolutely nothing,” Seiko Hashimoto, the Olympic bronze medalist, said at a press conference in Tokyo.
On Tuesday, March 17, Kozo Tashima, one of the vice presidents of the Japanese Olympic Committee and president of the Japanese Football Association, tested positive for coronavirus.
The International Olympic Committee and Tokyo organizers have kept the message since the viral outbreak in China three months ago spread across Asia and then across the world: The games will open as scheduled on July 24.
Organizers of Tokyo 2020 received the Olympic flame at a small-scale handover ceremony in the Greek capital on March 19.
ATHLETICS
The Indoor Athletics World Championships, to be held from March 13-15 in Nanjing, are postponed until March 2021.
The World Indoor Athletics Championships in Nanjing, China has been postponed due to concerns about the danger of the coronavirus and its ability to spread.
North Korea canceled the Pyongyang Marathon scheduled for April after imposing a border closure due to the outbreak level in South Korea, where the Seoul Marathon is canceled in an attempt to protect runners.
The Paris half marathon was canceled and the French government also decided to ban all public gatherings of more than 100 people, before ordering people to stay at their homes from March 15 for at least 15 days. The race involving about 44,000 competitors was scheduled for Sunday, March 1. Organizers said the race will be postponed to a date yet to be determined.
The London Marathon, which was scheduled for April 26, was postponed until October 4. More than 40,000 runners were to participate.
The Barcelona marathon scheduled for March 15 has been postponed until October.
BOXING
The qualifications for Olympic boxing to be held in Wuhan were canceled by the International Olympic Committee, but were held in Amman from March 3-11.
The IBF title fight between Daniele Scardina and Andrew Francillette in Milan on February 28 was postponed by Matchroom due to restrictions in Italy after the outbreak.
The Japanese boxing commission canceled all fight cards scheduled for March on government advice to suspend all pending sports matches. They will not be rescheduled.
The battle of Britain by Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce has been delayed from April to July
The British Boxing Board of Control announced on Tuesday, March 17 that all boxing events under its jurisdiction for March will be postponed due to the coronavirus.
That decision has led to the postponement of the heavyweight clash between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce. That fight, which had been scheduled for April 11, has been rescheduled for July 11 at the O2 Arena.
Anthony Yarde, who was due to fight Lyndon Arthur on the undercard of the British clash, announced on March 29 that his father had died as a result of contracting the coronavirus.
He revealed in an Instagram post that he had no underlying health issues and urged everyone to stay home.
Matchroom Boxing has also postponed all events scheduled for March and April, including Josh Kelly’s European title fight against Russia’s David Avanesyan (scheduled for March 28).
The European Olympic boxing qualifying tournament in London has been suspended. It was due to the safe qualification for Tokyo 2020 for 77 male and female boxers, with 322 participants.
Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn said Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight title defense against Kubrat Pulev, which is scheduled for June 20, could be reorganized for July. All fights promoted by Matchroom in March and April have been postponed.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders, slated for May in Las Vegas, was postponed before it was announced, however the Mexican is still reportedly planning to make the fight happen in June.
CRICKET
England’s tour of Sri Lanka was postponed on March 13, with the England and Wales Cricket Board citing “completely unprecedented times.”
The decision was confirmed while Joe Root’s team was on the field at P Sara Oval in Colombo, playing a warm-up game for a two-test series.
On March 18, the West Indies offered to host England’s upcoming home tests against them in the Caribbean rather than the UK, in case the coronavirus outbreak had not improved by then. England will face the Windies in a series of three tests, which will start in the Oval on June 4, but could be delayed until September. If playing the series in England is not feasible, CWI has offered to intervene for this series, and also for the three England Tests against Pakistan, which will begin on July 30. Although there are cases of Covid-19 in the Caribbean, its impact there has so far been limited.
The start of the Indian Premier League season has also been delayed until April 15. The 2020 campaign was due to start on March 29. IPL franchises are also ready to quarantine their foreign players for a period of 14 days, if travel restrictions are lifted to allow them to arrive.
On March 13, India’s ongoing one-day international series against South Africa was postponed, while Australia’s one-day internationals against New Zealand will be played behind closed doors.
Scotland’s one-day series against the United States and the UAE has been postponed. The games were scheduled to be played in Florida in April.
England cricketers would not play any rescheduled test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean until December at the earliest, it emerged on March 19.
CYCLING
The Giro d’Italia de Cycling has been suspended, and the race is scheduled to start in Hungary in May.
The final two stages of the UAE Tour were canceled after two staff members in the race were suspected of having the disease.
Danish cyclist Michael Morkov was tested for coronavirus after being isolated
The Tour de France is under threat of cancellation, with the scheduled start in Nice in just over three months, on June 27. With the British and French governments anticipating that the pandemic will last until the summer, race organizers are studying alternative programming.
The Paris-Roubaix cycle race, another major event on the French sports calendar, was postponed due to the pandemic, while the Tour of Flanders on April 5, only previously canceled during World War I, was also postponed on an additional signal. that Le Tour is under serious threat.
FOOTBALL
This summer’s Euro 2020 tournament moved to next summer (2021) after a UEFA conference held on March 17. Postponement provides an opportunity to complete European club competitions.
All football in England is suspended until at least April 30, but the 2019-20 season should be completed after the FA breaks its own rules to extend the campaign INDEFINITELY after holding crisis talks on March 19.
Decisions to suspend follow players and staff who are affected by the virus, or individuals who isolate themselves as a precaution after reporting symptoms consistent with Covid-19.
The Premier League has moved to cancel games after the global outbreak of coronavius
The Premier League clash between Manchester City and Arsenal, scheduled for March 11, had already been postponed as a ‘precautionary measure’ after Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis tested positive for coronavirus. weeks after seeing his Greek team play at Emirates Stadium.
On March 13, UEFA announced that all scheduled Champions League and Europa League matches are postponed, as well as quarterfinal draws for both competitions. UEFA hopes to conclude the competitions in the summer, but dates have not yet been set.
Birmingham City becomes the first Championship team to see players take temporary 50% pay cuts to ease financial pressure. Leeds United soon followed in an attempt to keep paying all its non-soccer staff.
All Chinese domestic games at all levels were postponed and the season was delayed, making it the first football affected by the outbreak in the home country. However, reports suggest the league could resume on April 18 as China deals with the virus.
Asian Champions League matches involving Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG are postponed until April.
The start of the Korean K-League season is postponed. The four teams in the AFC Champions League are playing their games behind closed doors.
Japan’s J-League postponed all national games until mid-March, but further delays are inevitable.
Ludogorets players took no chances after coronavirus outbreak in Italy
Italy, the country most affected by the virus outside of China, suffered a series of cancellations before the government detained the population. All sports, including Series A games, were suspended until at least April 3 to contain the virus.
In France, it was announced on Friday, March 13, that there will be no top-tier soccer in France in the immediate future after its governing body postponed all matches.
In Spain, the Copa del Rey final on April 18 was postponed between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad. LaLiga is also postponed until the end of March at least.
The German Bundesliga, the other major European league, is also suspended until April 3 at least.
The Dutch Eredivisie and the Portuguese Primeira Liga are also suspended.
The Irish Football Association announced that all football under its jurisdiction will cease until March 29.
Major League Soccer has been suspended for 30 days until mid-April with David Beckham’s first Inter Miami home game delayed.
The South American Football Confederation has postponed this year’s Copa América, which will take place from June 12 to July 12, until 2021.
FIFA said the recently expanded Club World Cup, originally scheduled for China in June 2021, will be postponed and a new date will be announced when “there is more clarity on the situation.”
On March 13, the FA announced that all England games scheduled for the month would be postponed, including those of the development teams. It means that England’s friendlies with Italy and Denmark have been canceled.
Euro 2020 play-off matches to be held on March 26, including Scotland v Israel, were postponed until June.
Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis tested positive for the coronavirus.
Manchester United’s clash on the Austrian side Lask was behind closed doors, with United handing out £ 350 to each fan to help with travel and accommodation after they sold 900 tickets to the Europa League game.
Newcastle United banned its players from shaking hands with each other amid fears of the coronavirus.
Cristiano Ronaldo became isolated in Madeira after it was learned that his Juventus teammate Daniele Rugani has a coronavirus. Team members Blaise Matuidi and Paolo Dybala also tested positive.
Elsewhere in Italy, Fiorentina forward Patrick Cutrone, who is on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, tested positive for coronavirus.
In Spain, 35% of the Valencia team staff tested positive for coronavirus, and all cases were asymptomatic.
The Real Madrid first team team was quarantined after a member of the basketball team tested positive for Covid-19. The two teams share the same training facility.
Liverpool have announced that a charity match between a Reds Legends team and Barcelona Legends, to be played at Anfield on March 28, has been postponed.
FIFA says it will postpone the qualifying matches for the South American World Cup that will take place in March.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive for coronavirus on March 12, with the entire first-team team in isolation. The Gunners’ game against Brighton, scheduled for Saturday, March 14, has been postponed.
In the early hours of Friday, March 13, Chelsea announced that winger Callum Hudson-Odoi had been diagnosed with the disease.
The club’s first team isolated itself, while two buildings at its Cobham training ground were closed.
Premier League clubs, including Manchester United and Manchester City, have sent players home to train alone after the British government’s mounting crackdown on mass gatherings and unnecessary social contact.
West Ham boss Karren Brady called for the season to be void while Aston Villa believes that no team should be relegated. In this situation, Liverpool, the leaders of the fugitive league, could face the horror of being denied the title despite being about to secure their first league trophy in almost 30 years.
Reports suggest that soccer agencies in England and the rest of Europe are preparing for a reported total closure of each league until September.
Top-tier English and Scottish football was initially suspended until at least April 3. The Football Association, Premier League, English Football League, FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship agreed to stop the competitive action with immediate effect.
All levels of English football underneath the National League North and South have been canceled and canceled without promotion and relegation as the coronavirus outbreak decimated the calendar.
FORMULA ONE
The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was suspended after a McLaren team member crashed with Covid-19, prompting the British team to withdraw before making a decision on whether the race would continue.
The announcement came hours after Lewis Hamilton said it was “shocking” that the race went ahead.
The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on April 19 was the first race to be postponed, with no decision on whether it will be reinserted in the 2020 calendar for later in the season.
The Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for March 20 and 22, is also canceled, as does the inaugural Vietnam Grand Prix, which was scheduled to take place in Hanoi on April 5.
The Dutch Grand Prix on May 3 was expected to be the first race of the new season, but that was also postponed due to Covid-19.
The iconic Monaco Grand Prix on May 24 was canceled for the first time in 66 years before Formula One announced that its career in Azerbaijan had been postponed.
The Chinese GP was the first to be canceled and other races could still follow that lead.
GOLF
On March 13, the Masters was postponed. In a statement posted online, Fred Ridley, president of the Augusta National Golf Club, emphasized that decision makers hope to hold the championship “at a later date.” The first men’s race of the year was due to start on April 9.
The US PGA Championship The USA, the second-biggest of the year, has now joined the Masters to be postponed. It was due to take place at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco May 11-17, but has been rescheduled for later this summer.
After deciding to play without spectators from the second round of the Players Championship onwards, the PGA Tour canceled the event entirely after the first round on March 12.
They also eliminated the following three pre-Masters events, but after that four more events were canceled in April and May: the RBC Heritage, the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, the Wells Fargo Championship and the AT&T Byron Nelson, also bit the dust. The season is expected to resume in late May.
The European tour has canceled all tournaments until the popular Made in Denmark event on May 21. Many of them will be held in China or East Asia in countries badly affected by the outbreak.
The women’s game has also been affected by postponements and cancellations, with the first major of the year, ANA Inspiration, the highest-profile victim.
The Masters has been postponed for the first time since World War II
Lorenzo Gagli and Edoardo Molinari were withdrawn from the Oman Open for medical reasons after Gagli showed symptoms of the virus. He shared a hotel room with Molinari and was told to isolate himself. They were later reinstated in the tournament after testing negative for the virus.
THE HORSE RACES
The Grand National was suspended due to new restrictions by the British government to combat the spread of the coronavirus that made it impossible to organize Aintree’s masterpiece on April 4. The Cheltenham Festival went ahead amid some criticism before measures of social distancing tightened.
The Japan Racing Association revealed that ‘government-licensed races’ will be held behind closed doors.
The races in Ireland attempted to take place behind closed doors starting March 29, but that decision changed after the government canceled all sporting events.
The Dubai World Cup meeting will continue on March 28 “with no paid hospitality spectators.”
Racing Post was forced to temporarily suspend publication of the leading daily racing newspaper for the first time since its inception in 1986 due to the suspension of all actions in the UK and Ireland.
The Cheltenham Festival went ahead despite the interruption of the trip caused by the virus.
RUGBY
This year’s Six Nations will have to wait for its conclusion with all remaining games postponed.
England’s game with Italy and Ireland’s trip to France had already been suspended with Wales and Scotland, leaving him until the day before before suspending his game.
Saturday, October 31 is a possible date for the last weekend of games.
The Six Nations for Women have also been affected by postponements.
Ireland’s Six Nations meeting with Italy postponed on March 7
The RFU has suspended all levels of rugby in England until April 14, and the announcement came shortly after the Premier halted for five weeks.
The quarterfinals of the European Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup have also been postponed. Those games were scheduled for April 3, 4, and 5.
The RFL and the Rugby League Super League have now followed suit and postponed all matches for at least three weeks. Eight Leeds Rhinos players were confirmed to have isolated themselves.
TENNIS
Wimbledon has been canceled for the first time since World War II when the heads of the All England Club canceled the tournament in an emergency meeting.
It was deemed impossible for the tournament to roll back later in the year, or to be played without fans, so the bosses have completely shut it down.
This is the first time that Wimbledon has not performed since 1945. Only one Grand Slam was lost a year since the war, the 1986 Australian Open, and that was for the technical reason of the date that was brought forward from December to January.
The French Open, one of four Grand Slam tournaments, is postponed until September amid a wide shutdown in France.
The clay court race was scheduled for May 24 to June 7, but that has shifted from September 20 to October 4, after the US Open. UU., That should be the final race of the year.
Players have quickly criticized the move, creating a conflict with the Roger Federer-led Laver Cup men’s team event and a women’s tournament in China.
All events on the ATP Tour have been suspended for six weeks.
The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in California, which will begin on March 9, was postponed to the eleventh hour. It occurred after a confirmed case of the coronavirus in the nearby Coachella Valley.
The final of an ATP Challenger event in Bergamo, Italy between Enzo Couacaud and Illya Marchenko of Ukraine was canceled. Both players received ranking points and cash prizes for reaching the final. They were denied the opportunity to play behind closed doors.
China lost the Davis Cup tie because the men’s team was unable to travel to Romania for the tiebreaker from March 6 to 7.
WTA events have also been canceled. The WTA announced that it is evaluating its schedule with a series of events scheduled for China in the second half of the season.
The International Tennis Federation has announced that the Fed Cup finals have been postponed. The event was due to take place in Budapest in April and the competition’s play-offs, to be held at eight different venues, have also been suspended.
The WTA also announced that no tournaments will be held for at least five weeks.
Wimbledon has been canceled for the first time since World War II
ANOTHER SPORTS
The NBA has been suspended indefinitely after two Utah Jazz players contracted the virus. On March 17, Kevin Durant, star of the Brooklyn Nets, confirmed that he had tested positive for the virus along with three unidentified teammates.
In an aid to decrease the risks of exposure to the virus, the NBA had told players to avoid taking items such as ballpoint pens, markers, balls, and shirts from autograph seekers.
The NHL has announced that it has paused the 2019-20 season with no confirmed date for when it will resume.
The UFC has canceled its next three events, though President Dana White is still moving forward for the highly anticipated lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.
MotoGP has canceled its first two races of the season in Qatar and Thailand.
The South Korean baseball league canceled the 50 preseason games to be held March 14-24. It is the first time since the start of the leagues in 1982 that a full set of exhibition games has been shutdown.
The first draw for the World Table Tennis Championship, scheduled for South Korea from March 22 to 29, is postponed.
A beach volleyball tournament, to be held in Yangzhou from April 22 to 26, is postponed until after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The World Short Track Speed Skating Championship in Seoul is canceled.
The World Triathlon Series event in Abu Dhabi was postponed as a precautionary measure.
The Women’s Ice Hockey World Championship in Canada has been canceled.
The 72 pre-season baseball games in Japan will be held behind closed doors.
In badminton, the German Open (March 3-8), the Vietnam Open (March 24-29) and the Polish Open (March 26-29), all Olympic qualifying events are canceled due to ‘strict health protection’.
The Japanese professional baseball league made the decision to play its 72 preseason games behind closed doors until March 15. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan.
Doubts remain as the Asian weightlifting championships, scheduled for March, move from Kazakhstan to neighboring Uzbekistan. They could still be postponed.
