People sit apart to observe social distancing while watching wrestlers perform a ceremony ahead of their bouts during a new two-week sumo tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, the main sumo arena in Tokyo, on Sunday (July 19, 2020). Sumo began a new tournament in front of a live audience on July 19 despite a steady rise of Covid-19 coronavirus infections, with fans voicing both joy and caution about watching the live spectacle during the pandemic. - AFP
TOKYO, July 19 (Reuters): Face-masked sumo fans sitting apart from each other cheered on their favourite wrestlers in person for the first time in five months on Sunday, as the delayed July Tournament got underway in Japan.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a tournament originally planned for May was cancelled, while March's Spring Grand Tournament in Osaka was held behind closed doors.
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