Olympic boxing qualification events canceled

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A global boxing qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics has been canceled, the AP reported.

The International Olympic Committee said plans were changed because of “current challenges to international travel and related restrictions in many countries” during the coronavirus pandemic.

The AP report said that boxers worldwide were to compete for 53 places in the Tokyo lineup at a tournament in Paris in June.

Those places will now be allocated equally across continents by world rankings based on results since 2017, the IOC said.

Olympic entries from Africa and the Asia-Oceania region will now be allocated by rankings while boxers in the Americas and Europe can still earn qualifying places in the ring.

An Americas tournament is scheduled for 10-16 May in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the European qualifiers should be in June at a venue to be decided.