A total of 62 gymnasts are scheduled to compete at Mersin’s Gymnastics Hall this week, but the competition has been hit by a series of withdrawals due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Teams from Russia, Italy and Britain – who finished in the top three of the medals table in the 2018 edition - have all pulled out of the event, which is due to run from tomorrow to December 13, along with Germany.

It means Russian Artur Dalaloyan, who clinched gold in the vault and parallel bars in Glasgow in Scotland two years ago, and Britain’s European floor exercise champion Dominick Cunningham will not defend their titles.

Cunningham’s team-mate, two-time Olympic gold medallist Max Whitlock, who holds eight European medals is another notable absentee.

Russia and Britain also claimed gold and silver respectively in the team event in 2018.

With so many big names missing, it will provide big opportunities for those competing in the Turkish city.

The host nation’s hopes will rest on the shoulders of reigning world champion Colak, Ferhat Arican and Ahmet Onder.

Colak secured silver in the rings event at the 2018 European Championships before going one better at last year’s World Championships in Stuttgart in Germany.

Ukraine’s team includes 2019 European silver medallist Petro Pakhniuk, London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Igor Radivilov and Illia Kovtun, who claimed four golds at the 2019 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival.

Tin Srbic, a 2017 world champion in the horizontal bar, and Filip Ude, a silver medallist in the pommel horse at Beijing 2008, form part of the Croatian team.

Israeli powerhouses Artem Dolgopyat, Alexander Shatilov and Andrey Medvedev and Romanian pair Marian Dragulescu and Saso Bertoncelj are also set to compete.

Alongside the men’s event, 65 juniors are expected to battle it out for glory, with the qualification due to begin tomorrow.

The final standings after the qualification day crowns the junior team medallists while the 24 highest ranked gymnasts – with a maximum of two per country – will advance to the all-around final.

The top eight per apparatus will advance to the apparatus finals.

In the men’s qualifications, which is due to start on Thursday (December 10), four gymnasts from each country will compete on the different apparatus, with the three best scores counting towards the team total.

The top six teams advance to the team finals on Saturday (December 12), while the best eight gymnasts per apparatus will progress to the apparatus finals on Sunday (December 13).

Qualification for the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, now set to take place in 2021, will not be on offer at the event.

Baku in Azerbaijan was due to stage the competition before being moved to Mersin in Turkey due to the coronavirus pandemic.