The European Sambo Championships had initially been due to take place in the Russian city Yekaterinburg in May, but the coronavirus pandemic forced organisers to move the event to September.

The FIAS confirmed the decision has been taken to push the event back a further two months, with competition now expected to run from November 27 to 29.

Organisers have expressed hope the situation regarding coronavirus will have normalised in Europe by the time of the rescheduled event.

"Today we see how many competitions in various sports are postponed and cancelled," FIAS President Vasily Shestakov said.

"Unfortunately, sambo is no exception here.

"No one knows how the situation with the spread of the COVID-19 virus will develop in the future, so it is very difficult for the organisers of the competition to plan something.

"Someone is postponing tournaments to other dates, someone has to cancel them altogether.

"Of course, we all understand the importance of competitions for sambists, however, the health of athletes and all participants of the competitions is still more important."

The FIAS added that it had granted national and continental sambo federations the right to make decisions on whether to cancel or postpone competitions based on the coronavirus situation in their country or region.

It confirmed that the number of cancellations has increased, with the World Cadets Championships in Croatia, the Pan American Championships in Colombia and the Asian Championships in Indonesia not taking place in 2020.

The European Sambo Cup Open in Spain and the Chokheli Memorial in Georgia will also not be held this year.

Four further competitions in Russia have met the same fate, including the Burdikov Memorial, Baikal Cup, the Potapov Memorial and the International Sambo Tournament for the Prizes of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan.