McIlroy vows to never taking winning for granted as he hits balls for the first time in seven weeks

2020 OLYMPIC GAMES  

The 2020 Olympic Online games has been postponed right until 2021 on March 24 – becoming a single of the final big sporting gatherings this summer to tumble victim to the coronavirus.

Japanese key minister Shinzo Abe held a critical convention call with Olympics chief Thomas Bach on Tuesday to formally decide a system and they have chosen to postpone for 12 months.

The final decision also means the Tokyo Paralympic Online games will be topic to a a single-year delay.

Inspite of the delay, the identify of the delayed Online games will nonetheless be Tokyo 2020, the city’s governor Yuriko Koike uncovered.

A joint statement from the IOC and Tokyo 2020 organising committee read: ‘In the present conditions and centered on the information offered by the WHO nowadays, the IOC President and the Prime Minister of Japan have concluded that the Online games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo ought to be rescheduled to a day over and above 2020 but not afterwards than summer 2021, to safeguard the wellbeing of the athletes, everybody associated in the Olympic Online games and the worldwide group.

‘The leaders agreed that the Olympic Online games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the environment during these troubled moments and that the Olympic flame could turn into the gentle at the end of the tunnel in which the environment finds itself at present. 

‘Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Online games will keep the identify Olympic and Paralympic Online games Tokyo 2020.’ 

There was a good deal of scepticism no matter if the Olympics would pull by means of and continue as scheduled while gatherings connected to the video games were called off. The Olympic torch relay in Greece was cancelled on Friday March 13 – just a day after the flame was lit in Olympia.

Large crowds mobbed Hollywood actor Gerard Butler as he lit the cauldron in the Greek town of Sparta inspite of recurring warnings for spectators not to go to since of coronavirus.

That forced the final decision by the Greek Olympic Committee to halt the torch relay on Greek soil on just the 2nd day of its scheduled eight-day journey. It is the only the 3rd time that a relay to Athens for the summer Online games has not been finished.

The Olympic flame will nonetheless be handed over to the Tokyo 2020 organising committee at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on Thursday March 19, but with out supporters present. 

Athletes were advised to keep teaching but quite a few struggled taking into consideration the governing administration lock-down steps place in location. 

On Friday March 13 US president Donald Trump’s suggestion to postpone the Tokyo Olympics for a year since of the coronavirus was right away shot down by Japan’s Olympic minister.

‘The IOC and the organising committee are not taking into consideration cancellation or a postponement – certainly not at all,’ Seiko Hashimoto, an Olympic bronze medalist, advised a news convention in Tokyo.

On Tuesday March seventeen, Kozo Tashima, a single of the Japanese Olympic Committee’s vice presidents and president of the Japanese Soccer Association, analyzed positive for coronavirus.  

The Intercontinental Olympic Committee and Tokyo organisers have stayed on information considering that the viral outbreak in China 3 months back unfold across Asia and then the globe: The video games will open as scheduled on July 24. 

Tokyo 2020 organisers gained the Olympic flame in a scaled-down handover ceremony in the Greek capital on March 19. 

ATHLETICS 

The Globe Athletics Indoor Championships, which was owing to be held from March 13-fifteen in Nanjing, is postponed right until March 2021.

North Korea cancelled the Pyongyang Marathon scheduled for April after imposing a border lockdown owing to the degree of outbreak in South Korea, in which the Seoul Marathon is cancelled in a bid to defend runners.

The Paris 50 %-marathon is cancelled and the French governing administration also determined to ban all public gatherings of much more than one hundred men and women, prior to buying men and women to stay at property from March fifteen for at the very least fifteen times. The race involving some forty four,000 opponents was scheduled for Sunday March one. Organisers stated the race will be postponed to a day nonetheless to be decided.

The London Marathon, which had been scheduled to just take location on April 26, has been postponed right until October four. About 40,000 runners were owing to just take portion. 

The Barcelona marathon scheduled for March fifteen has been postponed right until October.

BOXING 

Olympic boxing qualifiers to be staged in Wuhan were cancelled by the Intercontinental Olympic Committee, but went ahead in Amman from March 3-eleven.

The IBF title battle in between Daniele Scardina and Andrew Francillette in Milan o
n February 28 was postponed by Matchroom owing to restrictions in Italy following the outbreak.

The Japanese boxing fee cancelled all battle playing cards scheduled for March on governing administration suggestions to suspend all pending sporting fixtures. They will not be rescheduled.

The British Boxing Board of Manage declared on Tuesday March seventeen that all boxing gatherings less than their jurisdiction for March will be postponed owing to the coronavirus.

That final decision has lead to the heavyweight clash in between Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce remaining postponed. That battle, which had been penciled in for April eleven, has been rescheduled for July eleven at the O2 Arena. 

Anthony Yarde, who was owing to battle Lyndon Arthur on the undercard of the all-British clash, declared on March 29 that his father had died as a final result of contracting the coronavirus. 

He uncovered in an Instagram post that he had no fundamental wellbeing troubles and urged anyone to stay at property.  

Matchroom Boxing has also postponed all gatherings scheduled for March and April, including Josh Kelly’s European title battle against Russia’s David Avanesyan (scheduled for March 28). 

The European Olympic boxing qualification match in London has been suspended. It was owing to secure qualification for Tokyo 2020 for seventy seven male and feminine boxers, with 322 having portion. 

Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn has stated Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight title defence against Kubrat Pulev, which is scheduled for June 20, could be rearranged for July. All Matchroom promoted fights in March and April have been postponed. 

Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders, earmarked for May possibly in Las Vegas, was postponed prior to even remaining declared, however the Mexican is reportedly nonetheless scheduling to make the bout transpire in June. 

CRICKET 

England’s tour of Sri Lanka was postponed on March 13, with the England and Wales Cricket Board citing ‘completely unparalleled times’.

The final decision was verified while Joe Root’s facet were in the subject at Colombo’s P Sara Oval, contesting a heat-up match for a two-Test sequence.

On March eighteen, the West Indies offered to host England’s upcoming property Checks against them in the Caribbean as an alternative of in the United kingdom – should really the coronavirus outbreak not have enhanced by then. England are owing to deal with the Windies in a a 3-Test sequence, which is owing to get started at the Oval on June four but could be delayed right until September. If participating in the sequence in England proves unworkable, CWI have offered to step in for this sequence, and also for England’s 3 Checks against Pakistan, owing to get started on July 30. Though there are Covid-19 circumstances in the Caribbean, its effect there has been constrained so considerably. 

The get started of the Indian Leading League year has also been delayed right until April fifteen. The 2020 marketing campaign had been established to get started on March 29. The IPL franchises are also ready to quarantine their overseas gamers for a interval of fourteen times, if journey restrictions are lifted to let them to arrive.

On March 13, India’s ongoing a single-day worldwide sequence against South Africa was postponed, while Australia’s a single-day internationals against New Zealand will be performed driving shut doorways.

Scotland’s a single-day sequence against the United States and UAE have been postponed. The video games were scheduled to be performed in Florida in April. 

England’s cricketers would not engage in any rescheduled Test sequence against West Indies in the Caribbean right until December at the earliest, it emerged on March 19.

CYCLING 

Cycling’s Giro d’Italia has been called off, with the race scheduled to get started in Hungary in May possibly. 

The ultimate two levels of the UAE Tour were cancelled after two members of employees on the race were suspected of owning the condition. 

The Tour de France is less than menace of cancellation, with the scheduled get started in Nice having location in just over 3 months, on June 27. With British and French governments anticipating that the pandemic will final right until the summer, race organizers are learning choice scheduling. 

The Paris-Roubaix cycling race, a different big event on the French sporting activities calendar, was postponed owing to the pandemic, while the April five Tour of Flanders, only earlier cancelled during Globe War I, was also postponed in a even further indication that Le Tour is less than grave menace.

FOOTBALL 

This summer’s Euro 2020 match has been moved to next summer (2021) following a UEFA convention held on March seventeen. The postponement supplies a prospect for European club competitions to be finished.

All football in England is suspended right until at the very least April 30 – but the 2019-20 year should really sooner or later be finished after the FA bend their own rules
to lengthen the marketing campaign INDEFINITELY after holding disaster talks on March 19.

The decisions to suspend follows gamers and employees becoming impacted by the virus, or individuals self-isolating as a precaution after reporting signs and symptoms steady with Covid-19.

The Leading League clash in between Manchester Town and Arsenal, scheduled for March eleven, had currently been postponed as a ‘precautionary measure’ after Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest operator Evangelos Marinakis analyzed positive for coronavirus weeks after seeing his Greek team engage in at the Emirates Stadium. 

On March 13, UEFA declared all Champions League and Europa League fixtures scheduled are postponed, as perfectly as the quarter-ultimate draws for both competitions. UEFA hope to conclude the competitions in the summer but no dates are nonetheless established. 

Birmingham Town turn into the first Championship facet to see gamers just take short-term fifty per cent wage cuts to ease economic stress.  Leeds United quickly followed in a bid to keep spending all of their non-football employees. 

All Chinese domestic fixtures at all concentrations were postponed and the year pushed back again, the first football to be impacted by the outbreak in the place of its origin. Nonetheless, reports advise that the league could resume on April eighteen as China gets to grip with the virus.

Asian Champions League matches involving Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai SIPG are postponed right until April.

The get started of the Korean K-League year is postponed. The four groups in the AFC Champions League are participating in their matches driving shut doorways.

Japan’s J-League postponed all domestic video games right until the center of March, but even further delays are inescapable. 

Italy, the place worst hit by the virus outside China, experienced a spate of cancellations prior to the governing administration place the populace on lockdown. All sport, including Serie A video games, were suspended right until at the very least April 3 to have the virus.

In France, it was declared on Friday 13 March that there will be no leading-flight football in France for the instant potential after their governing overall body postponed all matches.  

In Spain, April 18’s Copa del Rey ultimate in between in between Athletic Bilbao and True Sociedad has been postponed. LaLiga is also postponed right until the end of March at the very least.

Germany’s Bundesliga, the other big European league, is also suspended right until April 3 at the very least. 

The Dutch Eredivisie and Portugal’s Primeira Liga are also suspended.

The Soccer Association of Ireland declared that all football less than its jurisdiction will cease right until March 29. 

Main League Soccer has been suspended for 30 times right until mid-April with David Beckham’s first Inter Miami property match delayed.  

The South American Soccer Confederation postponed this year’s Copa The united states, owing to just take location from 12 June to 12 July, right until 2021.

FIFA stated that the newly-expanded Club Globe Cup, initially scheduled to just take location in China in June 2021, will be postponed and a new day declared when ‘there is much more clarity on the situation’.

On March 13, the FA declared that all of England’s video games scheduled for the thirty day period would be postponed, including those people of improvement groups. It means that England’s friendlies with Italy and Denmark have been called off.    

Euro 2020 engage in-off matches owing to be held on March 26, including Scotland v Israel have been place off right until June. 

Manchester United clash at Austrian facet Lask was driving shut doorways, with United handing out £350 to each individual lover to enable with journey and lodging after they offered 900 tickets for the Europa League match. 

Newcastle United banned their gamers from shaking fingers with each individual other amid coronavirus fears. 

Cristiano Ronaldo went into isolation in Madeira after it emerged that his Juventus team-mate, Daniele Rugani, has coronavirus. Squad members Blaise Matuidi and Paolo Dybala also analyzed positive. 

In other places in Italy, Fiorentina striker Patrick Cutrone, who is on bank loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, analyzed positive for coronavirus.

In Spain, 35% of Valencia’s squad employees analyzed positive for coronaviru
s, with all circumstances remaining asymptomatic. 

True Madrid’s first-team squad were in quarantine after a member of the basketball team analyzed positive for Covid-19. The two groups share the exact teaching facility.   

Liverpool have declared a charity match in between a Reds Legends facet and Barcelona Legends, owing to be performed at Anfield on March 28, has been postponed.

FIFA states it will postpone South American Globe Cup qualifying matches owing to just take location in March. 

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta analyzed positive for coronavirus on March 12 with the full first-team squad remaining place into isolation. The Gunners’ match against Brighton, scheduled for Saturday March fourteen, has been postponed.

In the early several hours of Friday, March 13, Chelsea declared that winger Callum Hudson-Odoi had been identified with the sickness.

The club’s first team went into self-isolation, while two structures at their teaching ground in Cobham were shut. 

Leading League golf equipment, including Manchester United and Manchester Town, have despatched gamers property to practice alone following the British government’s escalating crackdown on mass gatherings and pointless social call.   

West Ham chief Karren Brady called for the year to be null and void while Aston Villa believe no team should really be relegated. In this scenario Liverpool, the runaway league leaders, could deal with the horror of remaining denied the title inspite of remaining on the brink of securing their first league trophy in nearly 30 decades.

Experiences advise football bodies across England and the relaxation of Europe are bracing themselves for a reported complete shutdown of every league right until September.

Leading-degree English and Scottish football was originally suspended right until April 3 at the earliest. The Soccer Association, the Leading League, the English Soccer League, FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship all agreed to call a halt to competitive action with instant outcome. 

All concentrations of English football below the National League North and South have been called off and voided with no promotion and relegation owing to the calendar remaining decimated by the coronavirus outbreak.  

System ONE 

The year-opening Australian Grand Prix was called off after a McLaren team member came down with Covid-19, leading to the British team pulling out prior to a final decision remaining created on no matter if the race would nonetheless go ahead. 

The announcement came several hours after Lewis Hamilton stated it was ‘shocking’ that the race was going ahead. 

The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on April 19 was the first race to be postponed, with no final decision over no matter if it will be reinserted into the 2020 calendar for afterwards in the year. 

The Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for March 20-22, is also called off, as is the inaugural Vietnam Grand Prix, which was scheduled to just take location in Hanoi on April five. 

It was hoped that the Dutch Grand Prix on May possibly 3 would be the first race of the new year but that has also been postponed owing to Covid-19. 

The legendary Monaco Grand Prix on May possibly 24 was cancelled for the first time in sixty six decades prior to System A single declared their race in Azerbaijan had been postponed. 

GOLF 

On March 13, the Masters was postponed. In a statement launched on the internet, Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, emphasised that the final decision makers hope to maintain the championship ‘at some afterwards date’. The first men’s big of the year was owing to commence on April 9.

The US PGA Championship, the 2nd big of the year, has now joined the  Masters in remaining postponed. It had been owing to just take location at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco from May possibly eleven-seventeen, but has been rescheduled for afterwards this summer.

Immediately after determining to engage in with no spectators from the 2nd spherical of the Gamers Championship onwards, the PGA Tour cancelled the event completely after the first spherical on March 12. 

They also scrapped the following 3 gatherings leading up to the Masters, but after that was cancelled four even further gatherings in April and May possibly – the RBC Heritage, the Zurich Common of New Orleans, the Wells Fargo Championship and the AT&T Byron Nelson – also little bit the dust. It is hoped that the year can be resumed in late May possibly.

The European Tour have cancelled all tournaments right until the common Produced in Denmark event on May possibly 21. A lot of of them were owing to be held in China or east Asia in nations around the world terribly hit by the outbreak.

The women’s match has also been hit by postponements and cancellations, with the year’s first big, the ANA Inspiration, the highest profile casualty.

Lorenzo Gagli and Edoardo Molinari were withdrawn from the Oman Open up on healthcare grounds after Gagli confirmed signs and symptoms of the virus. He shared a resort area with Molinari and he was advised to self-isolate. They were afterwards reinstated to the match after screening detrimental for the virus. 

HORSE RACING 

The Grand National was called off following new British governing administration restrictions to battle the unfold of coronavirus created it difficult to phase the Aintree showpiece on April four. The Cheltenham Festival went ahead amid some criticism prior to the social distancing steps were tightened. 

The Japan Racing Association uncovered that ‘government-sanctioned races’ will go ahead driving shut doorways.  

Racing in Ireland tried to just take location driving shut doorways beginning on March 29 – but that final decision was adjusted after governing administration cancelled all sporting gatherings.  

The Dubai Globe Cup conference will go ahead on March 28 ‘without compensated hospitality spectators’. 

Racing Publish forced to quickly suspend publication of the flagship every day racing newspaper for the first time considering that their inception in 1986 owing to all action in United kingdom and Ireland remaining suspended.  

RUGBY 

This year’s 6 Nations will have to wait around for its summary with all remaining video games postponed.

England’s match with Italy and Ireland’s vacation to France had currently been called off with Wales and Scotland leaving it right until the day prior to prior to calling off their match. 

Saturday, 31 October is a possible day for the ultimate weekend of matches. 

The Women’s 6 Nations has also been hit by postponements.

The RFU has suspended all concentrations of rugby in England right until April fourteen, with the announcement coming shortly after the Premiership was halted for five weeks. 

The quarter-finals of the European Champions Cup and Obstacle Cup have also been postponed. People video games were scheduled for April 3, four and five.   

The RFL and rugby league’s Super League have now followed fit and postponed all fixtures for at the very least 3 weeks. 8 Leeds Rhinos gamers had been verified to be self-isolating.  

TENNIS

Wimbledon has been cancelled for the first time considering that Globe War II as All England Club chiefs called the match off at an emergency conference.

It was regarded as difficult for the match to be moved back again to afterwards in the year, or to be performed with out supporters, and so chiefs have pulled the plug completely.

This is the first time that Wimbledon will not be staged considering that 1945. Only a single Grand Slam has skipped a year considering that the war, the 1986 Australian Open up, and that was for the technological rationale of the day shifting forward from December into January. 

The French Open up, a single of the four Grand Slam tournaments, is postponed right until September amid a broad lockdown in France.

The clay-courtroom big was scheduled for May possibly 24 to June 7, but that has shifted to September 20 to October four, after the US Open up, which was owing to be the ultimate big of the year. 

Gamers have been fast to criticise the go, which has designed a conflict with the Laver Cup men’s team event spearheaded by Roger Federer, and a women’s match in China.

All gatherings on the ATP Tour have been suspended for six weeks. 

The BNP Paribas Open up at Indian Wells in California, established to get started on March 9, was postponed at the eleventh hour.  It came after a verified situation of the coronavirus in the close by Coachella Valley.

The ultimate of an ATP Challenger event in Bergamo, Italy, in between Enzo Couacaud and Illya Marchenko of Ukraine was cancelled. The two gamers gained rating factors and prize money for receiving to the ultimate. They were denied the option to engage in driving shut doorways.

China forfeited a Davis Cup tie since the men’s team were unable to journey to Romania for the March six-7 engage in-off.

WTA gatherings have also been cancelled. The WTA declared they are examining their schedule with a number of gatherings established for China in the 2nd 50 % of the year.

The Intercontinental Tennis Federation has declared that the Fed Cup finals have been postponed. The event was owing to be held in Budapest in April and the competition’s engage in-offs, which were established to just take location in eight diverse areas, have also been put on maintain.

The WTA also declared no tournaments will be staged for at the very least five weeks.   

OTHER SPORTS 

The NBA has been suspended indefinitely after two Utah Jazz gamers contracted the virus. On March seventeen Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant verified he had analyzed positive for the virus along with 3 unnamed team-mates.

In an aid to reduce hazards of publicity to the virus, the NBA had advised gamers to avoid having items this kind of as pens, markers, balls and jerseys from autograph seekers. 

The NHL has declared it has paused the 2019-20 year with no day verified for when it will resume. 

The UFC has cancelled its next 3 gatherings, despite the fact that president Dana White is nonetheless pushing ahead for the extremely-expected lightweight title battle in between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. 

MotoGP have cancelled their first two races of the year in Qatar and Thailand. 

South Korea’s baseball league cancelled all fifty pre-year match which were slated to just take location from March fourteen-24. It is the first time considering that the leagues inception in 1982 that an full established of exhibition matches are off. 

The first-phase attract for the Desk Tennis Globe Championships, scheduled for South Korea from March 22-29, is postponed.

A beach front volleyball match, owing to be held in Yangzhou from April 22-26, is postponed right until after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Globe Short observe velocity skating championship in Seoul is cancelled.

The Globe Triathlon Sequence event in Abu Dhabi was postponed as a precautionary evaluate.  

The Women’s Globe Ice Hockey Championships in Canada have been cancelled.   

In badminton, the German Open up (March 3-8), Vietnam Open up (March 24-29) and Polish Open up (March 26-29), all Olympic qualifying gatherings, are cancelled owing to ‘strict wellbeing protection’. 

The Japanese skilled baseball league created the final decision to engage in their seventy two pre-year video games driving shut doorways right until March fifteen. Baseball is among the the most common sporting activities in Japan.  

Uncertainties continue to be as the Asian weightlifting championships, scheduled for March, are relocated from Kazakhstan to neighbouring Uzbekistan. They could nonetheless be postponed.