Beijing
China will not hold most international sporting events for the rest of 2020 as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, the government said Thursday, dealing a potential blow to the likes of Formula One and tennis. Shanghai’s sports authority recently said that it had been offered two Formula One races this year, while several tennis tournaments in China are on the WTA’s proposed Calendar.
However, China — where coronavirus first emerged late last year before spreading globally — appears to have ruled out many of those now happening, despite local infections dwindling markedly.
The General Administration of Sport, China’s highest sporting authority, said in a statement that, except for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic test events “and other important events, in principle, no other international sports events will be held this year. “ It did not specify which competitions will be hit, but the official Xinhua news agency said that “lots of international sport events will be affected”. A number have already been cancelled or postponed in China due to the coronavirus.—APP
