Turkish boxing chief slams London event over Covid cases

Istanbul: Turkey’s boxing federation today slammed organisers of an Olympics qualifying tournament in London after three Turkish fighters and a coach tested positive for the coronavirus. The London competition featured around 350 male and female boxers from dozens of European nations and was the first opportunity for boxers from Europe to qualify for Tokyo 2020. “The International Olympic Committee Boxing Task Force and the local committee in London — responsible for the organisation — acted as if nothing happened rather than postpone the tournament over coronavirus while every corner of the world has been on fire since December,” Eyup Gozgec, president of the Turkish Boxing Federation, said. The Boxing Road to Tokyo event started on Saturday and was scheduled to run until Tuesday behind closed doors. But it was suspended after three days over growing coronavirus fears. Gozgec, who is also the vice-president of the European Boxing Confederation, said his team went to London on March 11 to prepare for the tournament but found no protective measures in place at their hotel or elsewhere. Gozgec said one more Turkish athlete tested positive on Thursday after they returned from London, bringing the number to four including one coach. However, the IOC later said that it was “not aware of any link” between the tournament and the positive coronavirus tests. In a statement, the IOC said it was “not possible to know the source of infection.” AFP