Taiwan withdraw from Olympic baseball qualifying tournament over Covid-19 fears
They had initially been due to host the qualifying tournament, but it was then moved to Puebla, Mexico, by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. However, failure to secure a training base and concerns over player health with rising cases in Mexico meant they then withdrew as competitors.
"We apologise to all team staff," their baseball association said. Taiwan, which competes with Chinese Taipei and is ranked fourth globally, has won 22 medals at the Olympics, including a silver in baseball at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.
Rising cases in Taiwan led to the initial decision to move the qualifying tournament. Baseball will be making its first appearance at an Olympics since the Beijing Games in 2008, at which Taiwan finished fifth in the group stage and narrowly missed.
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