Tokyo Olympics 2020: Baseball's final qualifying event postponed from April to June over coronavirus scare

Taipei: Baseball’s final qualifying event for the Tokyo Olympics has been postponed from April to June because of concerns over the virus outbreak that has infected nearly 89,000 people and caused more than 3,000 deaths, mostly in China. [caption id=“attachment_8109531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of a preseason baseball game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Yakult Swallows at Tokyo Dome being played in front of empty stands. AP Photo[/caption] The World Baseball Softball Conference announced on Monday the qualification event scheduled for Taichung and Dou Liu in Taiwan on 1-5 April had been postponed to 17-21 June because of “player, personnel and spectator health and safety measures against the spread of the coronavirus.” Hundreds of new cases of the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease have been announced in recent days outside of China. There have been 40 cases and one death in Taiwan. The Olympics are scheduled to open 24 July, with baseball competition set to be played at Fukushima and Yokohama from 29 July to 8 August. The second- and third-place teams from the Americas qualifying tournament in Arizona next month will advance to the final qualifying tournament in Taiwan, joining a field that will include Australia, China, Netherlands and Taiwan. Baseball was an Olympic event from 1992-08 and has been restored for the Tokyo Oympics.