Geneva: The artistic gymnastics World Cup scheduled to take place in Doha in April has been canceled “in light of the current situation in the Middle East,” the sport’s world governing body has said.
“World Gymnastics reports that, following an urgent online vote and in light of the current situation in the Middle East, its executive committee has decided to cancel the 2026 edition of the Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Doha, scheduled to take place from April 15 to 18,” World Gymnastics said in a statement late on Friday night.
“The event will not be rescheduled,” it added.
Since the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began, many teams had cancelled their application for the competitions held in the Middle East, reports Xinhua.
No penalties will be applied to late applications for the last two Apparatus World Cups in Cairo and Osijek in April, World Gymnastics said.
“World Gymnastics expresses its support to all those impacted by recent developments and hopes for a swift return to stability in the Middle East.”
Furthermore, the World Gymnastics meeting approved several exceptional adjustments to the rules, including the number of highest results to be taken into account for ranking calculations.
The Apparatus World Cup Ranking list and the World Championships qualification pathway for Apparatus Specialists will be determined by the three highest scores on each apparatus in five competitions, regardless of the number of competitions the gymnasts participated in.
“Due to the exceptional nature of this decision, the official regulations in relation to the above will not be amended,” stated the World Gymnastics.
The Middle East crisis has impacted many sports events, including the Formula One calendar, as two races had to be cancelled
Formula 1 has cancelled next month’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix because of the escalating conflict, leaving the 2026 season with a reduced 22-race calendar and a lengthy spring break.
The sport confirmed Sunday that the races in Sakhir on April 12 and Jeddah on April 19 will not take place because of security concerns and logistical constraints linked to the ongoing conflict in the region.
The decision comes after weeks of uncertainty following the outbreak of hostilities on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran, triggering a wider regional conflict that has disrupted travel and raised security risks, reported Xinhua.
Several countries in the region closed their airspace in the aftermath of the strikes.
(IANS)
