The International Sambo Federation is aiming to keep spirits high with its campaign ©FIAS

The International Sambo Federation (FIAS) has posted a video of a Chinese athlete showing his support for the fight against COVID-19 and called on others to join its online campaign.

Sambist Ge Xiaolong posted a video of him fighting a tackling dummy with the name "COVID-19" emblazoned on its back.

"International Sambo Federation calls on sambists from all over the world to fight against the coronavirus", the FIAS said.

"Train hard at home and fight COVID-19!"

Others have been encouraged to film similar videos and post them alongside the slogan "#samboagainstcovid".

The coronavirus pandemic has put the majority of sport on hold across the world and sambo is no different.

All FIAS events have been postponed until at least April 30 and this includes the European Sambo Championships set for the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, which have been moved to September 17 to 21.

Other impacted events include the Sambo World Cup in Moscow, which was scheduled for March 20 and 21, as well as the World Beach Sambo Championships in Larnaca in Cyprus, originally to take place on April 28 and 29.

There have been more than 28,000 COVID-19-related deaths worldwide and more than 615,000 known cases.