Because of the coronavirus epidemic which killed 1,350 people in China, according to the latest report on Thursday, many sports events planned in China have been canceled or postponed. The Hong Kong and Singapore VII rugby tournaments were postponed Thursday from April to October due to the Covid-19 epidemic. Like the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, also scheduled for next April, which was postponed to better days on Wednesday. "Unfortunately, this is a global tragedy, for our health and for the health of everyone. It is safer not to go," said Esteban Ocon, the F1 driver of the Renault team.
>> Watch Matthieu Belliard's morning show in replay and in podcast here
These postponements are the latest examples of a series of cancellations of major sports competitions on Chinese soil. Because of the coronavirus, the world indoor athletics has been postponed by a year, several localized football matches, a cycling tour and ski world cup events have been canceled.
Concerns about the Olympics in Japan
Chinese athletes are themselves distraught. On the weekend of February 8-9, the Chinese badminton delegation was denied access to the Asian Cup in the Philippines, as athletes cannot stay in quarantine for 14 days before the start of the tournament as recommended by 'WHO (World Health Organization).
For reasons of health security, the Chinese anti-doping agency has chosen to suspend all of its controls. Six months before the Tokyo Games, all of Chinese sport finds itself paralyzed. On the side of the organizing committee for the Olympic Games in Japan, we are extremely worried. Faced with the risk, we are thinking of systematically testing all the athletes who will arrive in July for the biggest sporting competition in the world.