The year’s World Team Table Tennis Championships in Chengdu have been delayed by almost six months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The event, which had been due to take place in April, will now not start until September 30, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has announced.
COVID-19 concerns have been blamed for the delay, which follows talks between the ITTF, Chinese Table Tennis Association and authorities in Chengdu.
China’s borders have largely remained shut because of the pandemic, with the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games almost unique in being an international sporting event hosted by China in 2022.
September 30 to October 9 is the new window given for the World Team Table Tennis Championships.
The event is set to be the first World Team Table Tennis Championships to be held since 2018 after the cancellation of the 2020 edition in Busan due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Busan is instead scheduled to stage the tournament in 2024.
The ITTF has promised it will work to ensure players can “compete in the best and safest conditions” in Chengdu.
It previously announced that the tournament would be subject to a “closed-loop management in a bubble format”, similar to the system in place at Beijing 2022.
The World Team Table Tennis Championships is not the only major sport event due to take place in Chengdu this year.
The International University Sports Federation’s flagship Summer World University Games remain scheduled to take place from June 26 to July 7, although this could yet be impacted by the pandemic.
Chengdu 2021, as it is known, has already been delayed by 12 months because of the global health crisis.
Source: Ali Iveson