CHENNAI: Participation of Chinese wrestlers in the Asian Championships in New Delhi from February 18-23 remains unclear, especially with the ministry of health and family welfare on Monday issuing a fresh travel advisory in the wake of the deadly coronavirus outbreak. As per the latest advisory, people have been asked to refrain from travelling to China. It also says that anyone with travel history in China from January 15 and now could be quarantined.
Despite the uncertainty over China’s participation, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) seems hopeful saying it has already forwarded their visa requests and passport details to authorities concerned. The federation, however, was non-committal when asked about the chances of their participation. The advisory stated that the e-visa facility for Chinese passport holders has been temporarily suspended.The virus was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on January 31.
“We forwarded documents of Chinese wrestlers including their passport details to the ministry of external affairs a few days ago. The Wrestling Federation of China has requested visas for 40 including 30 wrestlers — 10 each in three weight categories,” said a WFI official. “We’ve done our part. Now, it’s the government’s call. Obviously, we want Chinese wrestlers to participate. A clear picture will emerge only after a couple of days,” Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, WFI chief, told this newspaper.
Meanwhile, the ministry of sports and youth affairs has highlighted the need to strictly follow the guidelines issued by the health ministry. “Whatever will be the travel advisory of the health ministry, will be adhered to strictly by us,” said RS Julaniya, secretary of the sports ministry.Delegations from various participating nations will start arriving in the country on February 16 for the Championships. The event will begin on February 18 with competitions in the Greco-Roman category, followed by contests in women’s and men’s freestyle.
The coronavirus outbreak has also cast a doubt over the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament scheduled to be held in Xian, China. The event is slated from March 27 to 29. The United World Wrestling (UWW) president Nenad Lalovic has hinted at the possibility of the event getting cancelled due to the outbreak.He said that a decision in this regard will be taken within 15 days. The UWW chief also said that Kazakhstan, South Korea and Uzbekistan are already candidates to replace China if the situation arises. Lalovic added that Chinese wrestlers would have to spend a period “in quarantine” before competing.
Fed Cup postponed
The Asia/Oceania leg of the Federation Cup women’s tennis tournament, scheduled from February 4 to 8, has been postponed. An Indian team consisting of Ankita Raina, Riya Bhatia, Rutuja Bhosale, Karman Kaur Thandi and Sowjanya Bavisetti, with Vishal Uppal as captain, was to travel to Kazakhstan to participate in the tournament. But the Kazakhstan government has cancelled the event due to the threat posed by the virus outbreak.
Events shifted out of China
Women’s Pro League, hockey, February 8-9
Chinese Super League, football, February 22
World Indoor C’ships, athletics, March 13-15
AFC Champions League, football, February-March
Women’s Oly qualifiers, football, February 3-9
Asian Olympic qualifiers, boxing, February 3-14
Women’s Oly qualifiers, basketball, February 6-9
Diving World Series, aquatics, March 7-9
The Tour of Hainan, cycling, February 23-March 1
Men’s World Cup, skiing, February 13-14
Blue Bay tournament, golf, March 5-8
China Open, snooker, March 30-April 5
China Masters, badminton, February 25-March 1
Federation Cup, tennis, February 4-8
Sanya ePrix, Formula E, March 21