Tennis star Osaka lights Tokyo Olympics cauldron as Games open

Japan's tennis player Naomi Osaka carries the Olympic torch in the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in Tokyo, on July 23, 2021. - AFP

TOKYO July 23, 2021 (AFP): Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron as the Tokyo Games opened on Friday after a year's delay due to the pandemic and with the threat of coronavirus hanging over the competition.

Osaka lifted the torch to the gleaming cauldron, which had unfurled at the top of a ramp representing Mount Fuji, in the highlight of a ceremony that was stripped back over virus fears.