Next month's women's world boxing championship in Istanbul was on Wednesday postponed till March 2022 by the sport's governing body AIBA, which said the "COVID-19 situation is too difficult at present" and it cannot take the risk to proceed with the event.
As reported by PTI on Tuesday, the event's postponement was sealed during the recent men's world championships in Belgrade where several countries expressed apprehensions about travelling to Turkey amid a surge in COVID cases.
"As such, AIBA Board of Directors, in consensus with the Turkish National Federation, has decided to postpone the Women's World Championships to March 2022," AIBA President Umar Kremlev said in a letter to national federation which is in PTI's possession.
"...the feedback received is that too many National Federations are facing difficult situations and restrictions within their countries. Regrettably, the Covid situation is too difficult at present," he explained.
The tournament was tentatively planned from December 4 to 18 in Istanbul. Turkey has been logging cases in excess of 25,000 regularly.
The country also reported 187 deaths on Monday because of the deadly infection that has wreaked havoc globally for the past two years. The surge in cases has been attributed to the delta variant of the virus.
"We are aware that some teams have already started preparations for this event and will be disappointed," Kremlev said.
"However, please understand that the safety and wellbeing of our athletes, officials and other stakeholders is priority, and therefore we cannot take the risk to proceed with the event," he added.
