2020 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships may be postponed

The organizing committee of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan, South Korea said on Monday that it was "actively considering" postponing the event because of the ongoing spread of the coronavirus in the country.

The championships were scheduled to take place in the metropolitan city from March 22 to 29. So far 37 teams have already announced their withdrawal from the contest. The confirmed coronavirus cases in the country have already reached 833 and 25 of them are in Busan. Moreover, Dageu, where some 100 infected cases have been confirmed, is only 100 kilometers away from Busan.

Last Friday, the confirmation of two new cases led to the cancelling of the championships' first-stage draw on the following day. The ITTF said it and the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA) "are taking advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) and working with the Korean government to put in place the most robust health and safety measures."

Chinese players and coach celebrate after winning women's title at the World Team Table Tennis Championships at Halmstad Arena, May 5, 2018. /VCG

As the world's biggest international table tennis event, the Team Championships usually will have 72 men's and 72 women's teams in the competition. Currently, the withdrawn teams included the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China's Macao and the Maldives among others.

China, as the defending champions of both men's and women's events, are training in Doha, capital city of Qatar, at the moment. The teams' original plan was to arrive in Busan on March 11 before having a week-long joint practice with the South Korean teams. So far there has been no update on whether China will stick to, change or cancel the plan entirely.

(CGTN)