The European Olympic Boxing Qualifying tournament is to be suspended after today’s evening session because of the changing world situation over coronavirus.

The tournament began on Saturday and was supposed to run until March 24 at the Copper Box in London.

However, after the decision was made to continue behind closed doors on Monday, the teams were told on Monday afternoon that this evening’s session will be the last. A statement said that qualification would be suspended until May, with the remaining quote places decided in May and June.

Two qualifying tournaments have already taken place, for Africa and Asia/Oceania. The Americas tournament, which was due to start in Buenos Aires next week, has already been postponed.

The final world qualifying event, scheduled for May, will also now be postponed.

Morinari Watanabe, the head of the IOC’s Boxing Task Force, addressed team officials at a meeting after the afternoon session informing them of the decision.

Increasing travel restrictions meant that there were worries for teams and officials getting home after the event if it had run its course.

A total of 77 quota places for the Tokyo Olympics were due to be up for grabs in London. Of those 16 will be decided tonight and they will stand for when qualifying resumes. The plan would be to start up the tournament at the same point it finishes tonight.

The statement said: “In light of the constantly changing landscape worldwide, the IOC Boxing Task Force (BTF) has decided today to suspend the current Boxing Road to Tokyo European qualifier in London, Great Britain, and the subsequent Americas and final world qualifiers, which were scheduled to take place in May.

“The European qualifier, which started on 14 March and was planned to run until 24 March, will be closed after today’s evening session.

“Safeguarding the well-being of the athletes, officials and all other participants is a top priority for the BTF. Since the preparation phase of the event, the BTF has been working in close cooperation with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) – the delivery body of the competition – as well as its stakeholders, its own medical experts and the national health authorities, to set up the necessary precautionary measures.

“The BTF eventually took the decision to suspend the event today, amid increasing global travel restrictions and quarantine measures, in order to allow the participants from over 60 countries to adjust their travel plans and return home.

“The BTF will continue to evaluate the situation daily, aiming to complete the distribution of the remaining Tokyo 2020 boxing quota places in May and June. The BTF’s priority remains the qualification of athletes on the field of play, and it will inform all stakeholders as soon as more information is available.”

The IOC also said that it was still committed to staging the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.