Tokyo Olympics has been postponed to July 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic
Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori on Tuesday said that the Olympics, which has already been postponed to next summer owing to the rising concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, might be "scrapped" if it fails to happen in 2021.
Following the continuous rise in the global pandemic, the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government, last month, mutually decided to postpone the Olympics to July 2021.
With the infection rate steadily climbing and medical experts reckoning that a vaccine is still a far-off option, questions are now being raised if the Olympics can be delayed further.
And when asked about the same, Mori, in an interview with Japanese sports daily Nikkan Sports, said, “No. In that case, the Olympics will be scrapped."
However, he was confident that the Games will be possible in 2021.
“We have delayed the Olympics until next summer after we will have won the battle,” he was quoted as saying.
“The Olympics would be much more valuable than any Olympics in the past if we could go ahead with it after winning this battle. We have to believe this otherwise our hard work and efforts will not be rewarded.”
When asked about Mori's remark, Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya said in a news briefing, “New dates for the Tokyo 2020 Games have been set and our mission is to deliver the Games next year," and further added that it was Mori's personal opinion on the matter.
