The decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics has been looming on the horizon ever since coronavirus assumed pandemic proportions. On Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took a historic joint decision -- to postpone Olympics in peacetime.
The Free Press Journal spoke to some sportspersons regarding Tokyo Olympics postponementand this is what they had to say:
"I think it is a wise decision to postpone the Olympics to 2021, considering that the situation with the pandemic is so dynamic and unpredictable. It is in the world's best interests to wait for the situation to be under control and a vaccine to be developed. After that, the athletes who missed out on qualification due to the cancellation of events, will get a fair chance to qualify and the ones who have qualified but are not able to train in this period will be able to make a proper training schedule and be in good form for the games-," said Soumya Swaminathan, Woman Grandmaster (WGM)
"I am relieved that the Olympics have been postponed. Normally the high point of the global sporting calendar, it is only fitting that the marquee event have all athletes being in top nick. In the current situation, athletes are not in a position to train with a clear mind and this would mean a sub-optimal build-up to the Games. Performances were bound to suffer. Most importantly, it would have been an immense health hazard for athletes, officials and spectators. It could mean the risk of fatalities due to the close interface. This would have been a massive setback to the image of the Olympic movement. I think that not cancelling, and instead, deferring the Games will be fair to the host country, since it would protect their huge investment. Let’s focus all our efforts on the global problem for the present. The Olympic Games can wait," said MM Somaya.
MM Somaya is a former Indian field hockey player and a member of the gold medal winning team of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games.
"Four years of preparation by the athletes, eight years of preparation by the organising nation all in a mess because of this virus. But that being said, it is the need of the hour. It is what it is, and we have to accept it and look at the bigger picture," said Nandan Bal, former Davis Cup coach.
