Tokyo Paralympic test event of boccia tournament cancelled over coronavirus concerns

TOKYO - A test event for the Tokyo Paralympic Games, the boccia tournament, has been canceled on Thursday by The Japan Para Sports Association (JPSA) because of the outbreak of coronavirus.

The Japan Para Championships Boccia, due to take place on Feb 28, "has been temporarily placed on hold until a final decision can be made on staging the event," said a statement released by Tokyo 2020, the organizers of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games.

Tokyo 2020 said that it was informed earlier by the JPSA, which concluded that "further time is necessary to fully analyze the potential impacts should the novel coronavirus affect an athlete."

The boccia event was scheduled to be held in the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, the venue to host the Olympic gymnastics competitions.

Tokyo 2020 said in the statement that other test events for the Olympic Games will be held as scheduled.

"Nevertheless will carry out the test event in some form, after ensuring a safe and secure environment, and will consult with the IPC, IF, and other relevant organizations to determine the content of such tests," it said.

The Sport Climbing test event will "go ahead as originally planned" on March 6-8, it said.

The Tokyo Marathon, one of the world's biggest marathons, canceled the general public entry on Monday over worries of the virus, cutting the participation from 38,000 to about 200.