World squash tourney cancelled over Israeli participation, Omicron concerns
EDITOR'S NOTE: The headline of this story was amended to better reflect its contents.
The men's World Team Squash Championship in Malaysia has been called off due to concerns about the new coronavirus variant Omicron and visa issues for Israeli athletes, the World Squash Federation (WSF) said.
The tournament was set to take place in Kuala Lumpur from Dec 7-12...
EDITOR'S NOTE: The headline of this story was amended to better reflect its contents.
The men's World Team Squash Championship in Malaysia has been called off due to concerns about the new coronavirus variant Omicron and visa issues for Israeli athletes, the World Squash Federation (WSF) said.
The tournament was set to take place in Kuala Lumpur from Dec 7-12.
This was after having been moved from Tauranga, New Zealand, in May due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions.
The global governing body added that the possibility that not all teams would be allowed to enter Malaysia due to visa issues contributed to the decision to call off the tournament.
Malaysia and Israel do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, and travel to Malaysia with an Israeli passport is not permitted without written permission from the Malaysian Home Ministry.
Malaysia is home to eight-time world champion Nicol David and led the push for squash to be accepted as an Olympic sport.
WSF President Zena Wooldridge thanked the IOC and Malaysia's Olympic Council for their "unwavering efforts to influence the highest authorities of Malaysia to ensure the ability of all participating teams including Israel to enter Malaysia and compete".
Malaysia's policy on Israel has led to the relocation of several sporting events. In 2019, the country was stripped of hosting rights for the World Para Swimming Championships after refusing to allow Israeli swimmers to compete.
Furthermore, the identification of the Omicron variant has prompted several countries to impose travel bans which had raised concerns that some athletes would be unable to travel to Malaysia.
