(Reuters) – The rescheduled Tokyo Olympics European boxing qualifier will be held in Paris from June 4-8, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Boxing Task Force (BTF) has said.
Paris is replacing London, where the event began last March before being suspended amid the COVID-19 crisis. The BTF decided to move the event from London in January following a surge of cases in the country.
The BTF said that Paris had been selected “as part of its initial commitment to organise its events in the host countries of recent or upcoming Olympic Games, and because of the opportunity to continue to benefit from its already established relationship with the Local Organising Committee, which was originally entrusted to organise the now-cancelled final world qualifier.”
The BTF said last month that the world Olympic boxing qualifier, which was due to take place in Paris in June, had been cancelled.
It insisted, however, that changes to the qualification system ensured athletes from all regions had an equal chance to qualify for the Games.
The BTF has been responsible for the qualifiers and the boxing tournament at the Tokyo Games after the IOC suspended the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) Olympic recognition over issues surrounding its finances and governance.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
