New Zealand boxing team arrives in Jordan amidst coronavirus scare, but bags missing

New Zealand boxer David Nyika. Photo / Photosport

The beleaguered New Zealand boxing team arrived in Jordan this morning, being whisked through customs and avoiding quarantine.

The good news ended there.

The team arrived, but their bags didn't, piling another disruption on top of what had been an almost comically bad-luck lead-up.

The team was only in Assisi, Italy, because they had to be spirited out of a training camp in Thailand when the coronavirus first hit. They were there to prepare for a qualifying tournament that was to be held in Wuhan, China, the original epicentre of the virus.

The relative safety of central Italy turned out to be far from that as the virus hit the country.

Nearby states, including Israel, started to close their borders to travellers from Italy and Jordan instituted a 14-day quarantine for non-Jordanians entering the country. The New Zealand team avoided that fate thanks to assistance from the Jordan Olympic Committee.

The team spent close to a day-and-a-half getting out of Italy and into the Arab state, despite the two countries being a five-hour flight apart.

The 11-strong team is in preparation for the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifiers that start on Wednesday.

Heavyweight David Nyika and light-heavyweight Jerome Pampellone are earmarked as New Zealand's best hopes to qualify for the suddenly under threat Tokyo Games.

If they fail to qualify directly from the Jordan tournament, there is a difficult final-chance opportunity in Paris in May.