China Women Training in Hotel Corridors Due to Coronavirus Quarantine - Star Player Stuck in Wuhan
China Women have had to train in hotel corridors since arriving in Australia for 2020 Olympic qualifiers as a result of being quarantined due to the coronavirus crisis.
Meanwhile, star player Wang Shuang will miss the games completely as she hasn’t been able to leave the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak - which has so far resulted in more than 400 confirmed deaths and more than 20,000 cases worldwide - was initially traced to.
The start of China’s final round Olympic qualifying games has been delayed owing to the quarantine of the squad and travelling party since touching down in Australia.
Yahoo! in Australia has reported that players and staff have been in isolation at a hotel in Brisbane, until to leave until the quarantine expires on Wednesday. It is explained that there have been no signs of the virus in the squad, but the necessary precautions remain in place.
China Women's football team's fixture in the 2020 Olympic Qualifying is rescheduled: China vs Thailand, Feb 7. China vs Chinese Taipei, Feb 10. China vs Australia, Feb 12. 3 matches within 6 days. Due to quarantine, Chinese players have to train in hotel corridors after arrival. pic.twitter.com/XOHbABNWav
— Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) February 2, 2020
Once the quarantine ends, the players will travel on to Sydney on Thursday, ahead of facing Thailand on Friday. Further games against Chinese Taipei and Australia, both also being played in Sydney, will then take place the following Monday and Wednesday respectively.
In the meantime, the players have been pictured stretching in hotel corridors and going through their pre-match routines as best they can in the circumstances.
The aforementioned Wang, who spent last season in Europe with Paris Saint-Germain and has already played over 100 times for China by the age of just 25, was videoed on Saturday training with her brother on a rooftop in Wuhan, unable to leave.
Wang Shuang, the star player of China women's national team, is stuck in Wuhan, her hometown, and would miss the Olympic qualifying moved to Australia. Since it is not possible to find a football pitch for self-training, she went to the rooftop to play with her brother. pic.twitter.com/ebsn8tuM4K
— Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) February 1, 2020
To take one of the two remaining qualifying places for the Olympics, China must finish in the top two in their group and win a two-legged playoff against a team from the other group – either South Korea, Vietnam or Myanmar. Japan have already qualified as a result of their host status.
China won an Olympic silver medal in 1996. But they have never been further than the quarter-finals since and failed to qualify in 2012. The team reached the last 16 at the 2019 World Cup.
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