Liang Xiaojing (2nd L) of China competes in the women's 60 meters round 1 match during the IAAF World Indoor Championships at Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, Britain on March 2, 2018. (HAN YAN / XINHUA)

PARIS - The 2020 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing has been postponed to March 2021 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, the governing body of world athletics sports announced on Wednesday.

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"It is with regret that we have agreed with the organisers of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing (13-15 March 2020) to postpone the event to March 2021," World Athletics wrote in a statement on its official website.

The statement also said that World Athletics has considered relocating the event to another country, but finally turned down this option "given concerns still exist regarding the spread of the virus outside China".

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"We have chosen not to cancel the championships as many of our athletes would like this event to take place so we will now work with our athletes, our partners and the Nanjing organising committee to secure a date in 2021 to stage this event," the statement said.