Olympic boxing qualifier in China scrapped over virus: report
Tokyo:A boxing qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for next month in China's Wuhan will be cancelled over the outbreak of a new virus, Japan's Kyodo news agency said Wednesday.
Citing organisers, Kyodo said the qualifiers would be rescheduled and moved from Wuhan, where the outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus is believed to have begun.
There was no independent confirmation from the organisers, and Japan's boxing federation said it was waiting to hear from the International Olympic Committee on the reported cancellation.
Kyodo said the IOC was expected to announce a new host and schedule for the qualifiers.
Boxing has struggled in the run-up to the 2020 Games, and was almost excluded from the Olympic programme after a series of scandals.
The amateur boxing body AIBA was stripped of the right to organise the Olympic competition and replaced with a special taskforce. Other measures have been introduced to rebuild trust in the sport, including a more transparent judging system.
The reported cancellation comes as China said the new strain of coronavirus has killed nine people and infected at least 440 others in the country.
Cases have also been reported outside China, in countries including the United States, South Korea, Japan and Thailand.
The coronavirus has caused alarm for its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
Several countries have already stepped up monitoring measures for visitors coming from China, and the World Health Organisation will hold an emergency meeting Wednesday on whether to declare a rare global public health emergency over the virus.
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Kabaka | Collision between bus-bike: Father dies, son critically injured
Puttur: A tragic accident occurred on Sunday near Kuvettila in Kabaka, along the Mani-Mysuru National Highway, where a KSRTC bus collided head-on with a motorcycle, resulting in the death of a father and critical injuries to his son.
The deceased has been identified as Arun Kulal, a resident of Narikombu village in Bantwal taluk. His son, Dhyan, was seriously injured in the incident.
According to reports, the KSRTC bus was traveling from Puttur toward Mangaluru when it collided with the oncoming bike. The force of the impact threw both riders onto the road, leaving them severely injured. Though both were rushed to the hospital, Arun Kulal succumbed to his injuries en route, police confirmed.
The accident led to a temporary disruption in traffic on the Mani-Mysuru Highway, with vehicles backed up for several kilometers. Puttur traffic police reached the spot and are investigating the case.
