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What's the story?
The International Shooting Sport Federation has confirmed that there will be no ranking points in the upcoming ISSF World Cup 2020 scheduled to take place in New Delhi. The reason behind this move is the widespread Coronavirus that has affected thousands of people worldwide.
The background
Coronavirus has already had a major impact on several sporting events. Foreign athletes have refrained from taking part in tournaments near China, while there is a huge question mark over the schedule of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as well.
The Shooting World Cup is the latest to be affected by this virus as the organizers cannot guarantee the participation of all shooters in this global event.
The heart of the matter
As reported by PTI, the ISSF has issued an official statement addressing the Coronavirus fears which goes as follows:
"Due to local restrictions relating to the COVID-19 virus introduced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India, the organizers of the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi cannot guarantee the participation of all the athletes who would like to enter those competitions."
Affirming that there will be no ranking points in the World Cup, the statement continued:
"Therefore no ranking points can be earned at this World Cup. Still, it will be possible to achieve the MQS that can influence on athletes' chances to get the desired Olympic quota places."
What's next?
It is worth noting that Bahrain, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, North Korea and Turkmenistan had already pulled out of the tournament. Besides, South Korea, Italy and Iran are likely to skip the event due to the travel restrictions imposed by the Indian government.
Hence, ISSF had to take this action in order to ensure fair play. The ISSF World Cup 2020 will take place from 15th to 26th March in New Delhi.
