What’s Happening to Olympic Qualifiers Amid Coronavirus Scare?

What is happening to Olympic qualifiers with mostly all sports events called off due to Coronavirus?

(Photo: AP)

As the IOC attempts to keep the 2020 Olympics on schedule, many of the events that determine who would compete in Tokyo have been postponed or canceled.

Here is the status of world qualifying in many of the Olympic disciplines:

Badminton

The top 16 players –in the men’s and women’s events – with the maximum points in the Olympic qualification cycle will make it to the Tokyo Olympics.

The cutoff date is 28 April.

However, with most events in March and April now being postponed due to the shutdown announced by the BWF, the players who were expecting to make a late surge with wins in tournaments in this window, will take a hit. Including Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth.

Boxing

Two of the four regional Olympic qualification tournaments have already taken place including the Asia-Oceania qualifiers that featured the Indian team. A record 9 boxers from the country booked their berths in Tokyo through the event, including MC Mary Kom and Amit Panghal.

The third qualifier, for European fighters began Saturday in London though the Americas qualifier scheduled for March 26 in Buenos Aires has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The last-chance World qualification event that will see all boxers from all country trying to book a berth in Tokyo is still scheduled for May 13 in Paris.

Hockey

Tournaments to fill the 12-team men's and women's fields were completed in 2019.

Ten countries qualified for both: Australia, Argentina, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the Netherlands and Britain.

Basketball

Men: Eight teams, including the United States, have already qualified. The remaining spots in the 12-nation field will be determined in four winner-take-all, six-team tournaments scheduled from June 23-28 in Serbia, Canada, Croatia and Lithuania.

Women: The 12-team field was filled in February with four tournaments. Although defending world champion United States and the host Japanese were already guaranteed spots, both finished in position to qualify anyway.

3x3: FIBA has postponed the qualifying tournament scheduled for March 18-22 in India. A second qualifying tournament scheduled for April in Hungary is in limbo. Four women's teams and four men's teams have already qualified for the eight-country fields.

Beach Volleyball

Most Olympic spots are earned over a two-year points race on the international tour. At least three of the final 10 events have been canceled or postponed, and the final event is scheduled for Rome on June 9-14.

Cycling

The selection criteria is different for each discipline: BMX freestyle and racing, mountain biking, track cycling, and the road race and time trials. Each discipline has a series of automatic qualification standards, and a committee will choose athletes to fill out the U.S. team.

The world championships May 30-31 in Houston is crucial for BMX, and at this point is still scheduled. The last Olympic qualification event in freestyle BMX, the World Series in Hiroshima April 3-5, has been postponed. Final rosters for each discipline are announced in June.

Diving

Dozens of divers have already qualified based on their performances at last summer's world championships or other major meets over the last eight months.

The last big qualifier is the Diving World Cup, set for the new Olympic aquatics venue in Tokyo on April 21-26; FINA is still considering whether to proceed. U.S. divers also must get through the national trials in Indianapolis on June 13-21 to confirm their Olympic spots. No decision has been announced on the Canadian trials scheduled for March 30-April 5 in Toronto.

Equestrian

All of the equestrian qualifying events have been completed in every discipline. None of the events was affected by the virus.

Fencing

Qualification was to be based on rankings set to be released on April 4, with some additional slots to be determined in zonal events from April 15-26. But the International Fencing Federation suspended all international competitions for 30 days, delaying five major competitions that must be completed before zonal qualifying. The FIE is requesting an extension of the qualification period.

Golf

Sixty golfers are determined by the world rankings, two per country with a maximum of four if they are among the top 15. The PGA Tour and European Tour, which offer the most ranking points, have canceled or postponed all events at least through April 12.

Gymnastics

The team fields for both men's and women's gymnastics were set at last year's world championships. The remaining individual all-around and single apparatus spots are determined at World Cup events. The International Gymnastics Federation has cancelled an all-around World Cup event in Germany and postponed an apparatus World Cup event in Qatar from March until early June.

Handball

The International Handball Federation has postponed the final qualifying tournaments until June. The host nations were Spain, Hungary and Montenegro for the women and Norway, France and Germany for the men. Six of 12 spots remain open for each field.

Judo

The International Judo Federation has canceled all Olympic qualifiers through April 30, including a Grand Slam and two Grand Prix. Another Grand Prix last weekend, in Morocco, was canceled earlier. Qualifying ends on May 25.

Rowing

World Rowing has canceled a European Olympic qualifying regatta that was scheduled for April 27-29 in Varese, Italy, and relocation is being considered. US Rowing said Olympic trials in Sarasota, Florida, from March 16-21 and April 13-18 have been postponed and the organization will not hold a national team event for at least 30 days.

Sailing

Many spots in the 10 classes have been clinched. An Asian Olympic qualifier in Abu Dhabi has been postponed until mid-April, and a World Cup Series regatta in Genoa, Italy, that would have been a qualifier for African, Asian and European countries, has been canceled. The IOC has granted World Sailing an extension of the qualification period to June 30.

Football

Men: Fourteen of 16 teams have already qualified. The tournament to produce the two teams from the North and Central American and Caribbean region was scheduled for March 20 to April 1 in Guadalajara, Mexico, but was indefinitely postponed.

Women: Ten of 12 teams have already qualified, including the reigning World Cup champion United States. China and South Korea were scheduled to play in a two-legged playoff that has been pushed back to early June. Cameroon is set to play Chile in a two-legged playoff in early April but no announcement on those matches has been made.

Table Tennis

Qualifying events was still in progress and scheduled to continue through May. But the International Table Tennis Federation suspended all activities until the end of April and recommended that continental associations follow that decision. An emergency meeting of the ITTF executive committee is scheduled for Monday.

Tennis

The International Tennis Federation says Olympic eligibility still will be based on the WTA and ATP rankings of June 8, even though more than a month of the tours' schedules in March and April have been scrapped. Requirements related to minimum participation in Fed Cup or Davis Cup remain in place — as does an appeal process for players who do not meet those standards.

Volleyball

The qualification was completed in January with the 12 teams for both the men's and women's competitions already set.

Weightlifting

Spots are decided by the world ranking. The continental championships next month were meant to be the last gold-level events offering extra qualifying points. However, the European, Asian and African championships have all been postponed along with another gold-level event, junior worlds.