People wearing protective face masks, following an outbreak of the coronavirus, are seen in front of the Giant Olympic rings at the waterfront area at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo. Japan govt said they are confident the Olympic Games will go on as scheduled in July. - Reuters
TOKYO: Japan vowed to continue preparing to host this year’s Olympics as the outbreak of the novel coronavirus caused further disruption to international sport. In Tokyo, Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto dismissed comments by an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member suggesting the outbreak could lead to the Games being cancelled. "All we can do is to prepare to host the Games with peace of mind and to be recognised by the IOC," she said on Friday (Feb 28). The latest international sports event to be scrapped is the short-track speedskating world championships in Seoul, South Korea from March 13-15. It comes after South Korea saw the postponement of the world team table tennis championships in Busan from March 22-29 to the provisional dates of June 21-28. The German Open international badminton tournament next week in Muelheim an der Ruhr was also called off. Two women's alpine ski World Cup races are, however, to go ahead in north-western Italy at La Thuile at the weekend despite Covid-19 infections in northern regions of the country, the international ski federation FIS said. The coronavirus outbreak is playing havoc with the international sports calendar. Many sports have now cancelled, suspended or postponed events, leading to questions on the viability of the Tokyo Olympics. The IOC's longest-serving member, Dick Pound, said in an interview with the Associated Press that was published on Tuesday the outbreak could lead to the cancellation of the Olympics. The IOC has a three-month window to decide the fate of the 2020 Games, he said. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said Pound's comments were "personal views." "I have emails from IOC members in charge of the Tokyo Olympics telling me to work hard in preparing for the event," she told reporters. About 11,000 athletes are expected to participate in the Olympics from July 24 to August 9. The Paralympics kick off on August 25. Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a news conference, "I have not heard anything about changes in schedules from the organizers. We would like to steadily prepare to host the Games.” John Coates, the IOC coordination commission chairman for the Tokyo Games, meanwhile told the Sydney Morning Herald that that the IOC would survive an unlikely cancellation, with a reserve fund said to be 900 million dollars. "The Games aren’t being cancelled, but if the Games were to be cancelled then the IOC is in the position to continue to fund the member sports and the NOCs," Coates said. He added: "We’re continuing to plan for the Games to proceed. The mayor of Tokyo (Yuriko Koike) confirmed that to me the other day. She’s the one who’s got 30 million people in her city," Coates said. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked organisers of big sports and cultural events to cancel or postpone them for the next two weeks. "The next two weeks is crucial for Japan to prevent the spread of the outbreak,” the premier said. In Italy, which has reported a major increase in new coronavirus cases, the country's sports federation and local organizers said they saw no grounds to call off the weekend World Cup alpine skiing. However, as a precautionary measure fewer spectators than usual will be permitted to attend the super-g and alpine combined races. Team members will be under constant medical supervision, FIS said. The World Cup season's final race week from March 18 to 22 in Cortina d'Ampezzo could prove a greater problem. The Italian ski resort is closer to the worst-affected regions and is expected to attract thousands of spectators. Football has already been affected by the outbreak in northern Italian regions. Inter Milan's Europa League last-32 home match against Ludogorets on Thursday will be played behind closed doors because of fears about the possible spread of the virus. Inter were one of four Serie A clubs to have their home games postponed last weekend. Five Serie A matches will be played behind closed doors this weekend - including the top match between leaders Juventus at home to third-placed Inter. In rugby union, Ireland's Six Nations match against Italy in Dublin on March 7 was postponed. The annual competition also features England, France, Scotland and Wales, and England are scheduled to play in Italy a week later. The decision to postpone the matches came after rugby officials from the country's rugby federation IRFU met Irish Health Minister Simon Harris. A women's game the following day was also postponed. Six Nations officials are meanwhile "monitoring" the situation in Italy and said they would discuss possible new dates for the matches. European football body UEFA said it was also monitoring the virus outbreak with a view to any possible ramifications for Euro 2020, which is being played in 12 European countries including Italy this summer. The opening match of the tournament is in Rome on June 12, and the Italian capital is hosting two further group-stage matches and a quarter-final. Earlier this month, Formula One postponed the Chinese Grand Prix scheduled in Shanghai in April, and there are uncertainties around the Vietnam race in Hanoi on April 5, and the March 22 Bahrain GP is also coming under scrutiny after reporting more cases of the virus linked to the outbreak in neighbouring Iran. - dpa/Asian News Network
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