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Coronavirus scare for Hong Kong boxer Rex Tso after woman on same flight tests positive

  • The 32-year-old boxer has gone into self-imposed quarantine with the rest of the Hong Kong boxing team
  • The ‘Wonder Kid’ receives another blow with the Paris Qualification Event likely to be suspended in line with all Olympic qualifiers around the world

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Hong Kong boxer Rex Tso is staying at home for the next two weeks. Photo: Olympic Channel

It was a week to forget for Hong Kong boxer Rex Tso Sing-yu. Firstly, he was well beaten in the Asia/Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Amman, Jordan. And if that wasn’t enough to put a good man down, he found out that a 26-year-old South Korean woman on the same flight as him returning home tested positive for coronavirus.

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Tso and the rest of the Hong Kong boxing squad who travelled to Amman, Jordan were put under home quarantine on Friday upon their return from Amman. But they were given a massive scare on Monday when they were informed they shared the same flight as a passenger, who tested positive for Covid-19 in Macau. Tso and the Hong Kong squad were on the same connecting flight (Emirates flight EK380) as the woman travelling from Dubai on Friday.

Tso also received more bad news with the world Olympic qualification event, scheduled for Paris in May, likely to be suspended, leaving his Tokyo 2020 hopes in limbo.

After losing two bouts out of three in Amman, the 32-year-old Tso’s last hope of qualifying for Tokyo was the Paris tournament, but that trip looks doubtful after the European, American and final world qualifying boxing tournaments for Tokyo were suspended, it was announced late on Monday.

The IOC said the European qualifier in London that was already underway and due to run to March 24 would end after the evening session last night. Paris is also likely to be follow suit, meaning Hong Kong’s “Wonder Kid” Tso might not be able to book his Tokyo ticket or at least have his Olympic qualifying plans delayed yet again.

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