The fate of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics remains shrouded in uncertainty, amid rising fears over coronavirus and mixed messages from organisers.
The games are scheduled to be held in Tokyo between July 24 and August 9 but their fate appears increasingly in doubt as the world battles to contain COVID-19.
A member of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee's executive board has suggested the Olympic Games could be postponed.
Haruyuki Takahashi told The Wall Street Journal that delaying the start of the Olympics would be a better option than canceling them or having the events go ahead behind closed doors.
"I don't think the Games could be canceled. It'd be a delay," Takahashi was quoted as saying. "The International Olympic Committee would be in trouble if there's a cancellation. American TV rights alone provide them with a huge amount."
Takahashi's comments were in stark contrast to the position of the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who last week indicated the Olympic Games would go ahead as planned and urged athletes to prepare as normal.
The Tokyo 2020 organising committee told Newsweek it had "sought clarification" with Takahashi and that he had "inadvertently given his personal opinion in response to a hypothetical question."
The International Olympic Committee is doubling down on its stance, insisting neither canceling the Games nor postponing them was on the cards.
Japan's Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto called the possibility of postponing the games "inconceivable" and ruled out the option.
She says with the star athletes in the middle of preparations for this event which happens only once every four years, a cancellation or delay to the Tokyo games is inconceivable.
[Source: Newsweek]
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