Weightlifing-Asian Championships moved to Uzbekistan due to coronavirus epidemic

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) is relocating the Asian Championships scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan to neighboring Uzbekistan because of the coronavirus epidemic, it said on Monday. The Weightlifting Championships join a long list of sporting events that have been canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak in China, which has killed more than 1,700 people.

The IWF said Kazakhstan had restricted travel to and from countries neighboring China, forcing organizers to seek other options, and they had settled on Uzbekistan which will now host the April 16-25 competition in the capital Tashkent. Other sporting events affected by the outbreak include the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which had originally been scheduled to take place in the Chinese city of Nanjing in March. They have been postponed until next year.

The Asian Athletics Association also canceled its indoor championships that were due to take place in the Chinese city of Hangzhou this month.

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