Tag: Tokyo Games

Japan's top medical experts warned on Friday that holding the Olympics during the COVID-19 pandemic could increase infections, and said banning all spectators was the least risky option, setting up a possible collision with organisers.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has dropped Chinese sportswear maker Li Ning as its official kit partner citing public sentiment in the country, saying its athletes will wear unbranded apparel at the Tokyo Games instead.

One of Japan's official Tokyo Olympics sponsors, Asahi Shimbun newspaper, on Wednesday called for the cancellation of the upcoming Games, calling it a "threat to health" of the citizen of the country and the stakeholders of the event, scheduled to get underway from July 23.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is still ironing out details of a policy by which national teams fly in additional medical staff for the Tokyo Olympics so as not to burden Japan which is struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly 60% of people in Japan want the Tokyo Olympics to be cancelled, an opinion poll showed on Monday, less than three months before the Games are due to begin.

More than 110,000 Olympic volunteers had their dream summer all mapped out for 2020. But now, with the Games postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic and for many still in doubt, they are left waiting in limbo, lives on hold.

When Japanese and International Olympic Committee officials finally accepted defeat in March and postponed the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, there was general agreement that a one-year wait would give the world ample time to overcome the coronavirus pandemic.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach expressed confidence on Monday that the Tokyo Games will be held successfully next year, even allowing spectators to attend, as the world grapples with a sharp rise in coronavirus infections.