'COVID-19' Impact... Busan World Table Tennis Championships Postponed to June

Steve Dainton, Secretary General of the International Table Tennis Federation, speaking at a press conference on the 25th / Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the Busan World Table Tennis Championships, originally scheduled to be held in Busan next month, has been postponed to June.

On the 25th, Busan City announced, "The tournament, which was scheduled to be held from March 22 to 29, will be postponed by about three months to June 21 to 28."

Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don explained, "As the number of confirmed cases rapidly increased and the COVID-19 situation became severe, the International Table Tennis Federation officially recommended postponing the tournament, and the organizing committee accepted this."

Mayor Oh added, "We also considered holding the tournament without spectators instead of postponing it, but when prioritizing the safety of citizens and players, we judged that proceeding with the tournament under the current circumstances would be inappropriate."

Earlier, at an emergency meeting held on the 22nd, Steve Dainton, Secretary General of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), stated, "If the situation worsens rapidly, we may consider measures such as postponement."

Meanwhile, the organizing committee reportedly made efforts to prepare for the tournament until the end, including signing a title sponsorship agreement with Hana Bank on the 11th.

The Busan World Table Tennis Championships were expected to host about 1,200 players from 87 countries and approximately 3,000 participants including officials from various national table tennis associations.