eBusiness Weekly
Coronavirus is ruining sport. Whether in Italy, China or the United States, sporting bodies are cancelling events because of COVID-19. Either that, or they’re taking measures that seriously damper the usual enjoyment.
And now, with the NBA warning players not to high-five fans, things have taken a turn for the ridiculous. Rather than protecting people and players, the directive to fist-bump rather than high-five will only scare them.
In fact, just as sport normally serves to promote ideals of competitiveness, individualism and fitness, the wave of cancellations and warnings shows that it’s now serving to promote anxiety and fear. Sport has turned from a medium of entertainment into a medium of social control.
The following is a list of international sports events hit by the outbreak of the new coronavirus:
Rugby
The future of the 2020 Six Nations Championship was set to be decided at a meeting in Paris, amid fears the coronavirus could wreck this season’s edition.
The Irish Rugby Football Union has already postponed the Six Nations fixture against Italy due to the virus outbreak in northern Italy.
Golf
The women’s LPGA golf tour cancelled the March 5-8 Blue Bay tournament.
The tour also cancelled the Honda LPGA Thailand event in Pattaya and the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship in Pattaya, Thailand, has been rescheduled for 7-10 October.
The PGA Tour Series-China postponed two qualifying events and delayed the start of its 2020 campaign by two months, cutting the number of regular-season events to 10 from 14.
Cycling
The final two stages of the UAE Tour were cancelled after two Italian participants tested positive for coronavirus. Tests on 167 people at the event proved negative for coronavirus after they were feared to have been exposed to the infected cases.
Rugby sevens
The Singapore and Hong Kong legs of the World Rugby Sevens Series have been postponed from April to October.
Badminton
The 2020 German Open, which was to be held in Muelheim an der Ruhr from March 3-8 and is an Olympic qualifier, has been cancelled, the Badminton World Federation said.
The 2020 Polish Open, another Olympic qualifier scheduled to be held in Krakow from March 26 to 29 has been postponed and will now fall outside the Olympic qualification period, the Polish Badminton Association said.
The Vietnam International Challenge has been put back from March to June and will no longer serve as a qualifying event for the Tokyo Olympics. The tournament was due to take place from March 24 to 29.
The Badminton World Federation said it hoped the flagship Badminton Asia Championships could go ahead in Wuhan from April 21-26.
Athletics
The World Athletics Indoor Championships, scheduled for Nanjing from March 13-15, were postponed until next year. World Athletics is working with organisers on a date to host the biennial event in 2021.
A mixed relay Olympic triathlon qualification event to be held in the Chinese city of Chengdu in May was moved to Valencia in Spain, the International Triathlon Union said.
Soccer
Five Italian Serie A matches which had been scheduled to go ahead behind closed doors on February 29-March 1, including the clash between Juventus and Inter Milan, have been postponed to May 13, Italy’s soccer league said.
The Coppa Italia final, due to be played May 13, was moved to May 20.
Asian Champions League matches involving Chinese clubs Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG were postponed.
Guangzhou and the Shanghai clubs will join the competition in April, with their group matches due to be played in May.
China’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Maldives at home and Guam away in March will be moved to Buriram, Thailand. The game will be played behind closed doors.
The Chinese Football Association said domestic games at all levels would be postponed.
The AFC said preliminary stage matches of the East Zone of the AFC Cup 2020 had been postponed by two months to recommence on April 7 due to travel curbs.
Formula One
The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai set for April 19 has been postponed by the governing body FIA and Formula One. Authorities will weigh up potential alternative dates later this year.
Tennis
The International Tennis Federation moved the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Group I event featuring China, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Uzbekistan out of the Chinese city of Dongguan to Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana) in Kazakhstan.
But the February 4-8 event was later postponed after Kazakhstan declined to serve as substitute hosts.
China forfeited a Davis Cup tie because its men’s team were unable to travel to Romania for the March 6-7 playoff. — Online.
