hankyoreh

A man walks behind the Olympic Rings installed in front of the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. (AP/Yonhap News)

More South Korean national wrestling team members have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an international tournament that doubled as a qualifier for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The Korea Wrestling Federation said Wednesday that 12 of 27 athletes who returned to Korea after the tournament and 15 of 23 athletes in Bulgaria have tested positive for the coronavirus. One athlete in each group has been released from quarantine, the federation said.

Altogether, 27 of 50 athletes, or more than half of the group at the tournament, have been infected.

On April 21, the Korea Wrestling Federation disclosed that one coach and six of the athletes who’d competed in an Olympic qualification tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan, had tested positive for COVID-19.

Despite the infections, the team went ahead to compete in Bulgaria, which represented its last chance to get a ticket to the Olympics. As part of that plan, athletes were given another COVID-19 test after arriving in Bulgaria. That’s when the bigger batch of positive tests came back.

The Korea Wrestling Federation said it was taking steps to fly back athletes who wished to return home, provided that their COVID-19 test had come back negative. The federation also apologized for distressing the Korean public.

By Lee Jun-hee, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]