Put off Tokyo: Gopi Better to delay Games, says badminton coach

New Delhi, March 19: India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand believes the Tokyo Olympics should be postponed given the unprecedented crisis that the world is facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The call to defer the Olympics, scheduled to be held in Tokyo from July 24 to August 9, is growing after most of the major sporting events were either cancelled or postponed due to the deadly outbreak.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, said on Wednesday it expects the Games to begin on time.

“I have my doubts about the Olympics. It is not like it is far away. The preparation has to start now. So, the IOC has to take a call now for everyone to relax,” Gopichand said.

“I think, in the present scenario, with the health scares and all the travel restrictions and all, it is a tough time and at the moment the whole world is thinking about health and safety for its citizens, so I think given the situation it is better if the Olympics are postponed,” he added.

OLYMPICS COULD BE DELAYED, ADMITS COE

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe admitted that the Tokyo Olympics could be moved to later in the year by the coronavirus outbreak, but said it was too early to decide.

Olympic bosses acknowledged there was no “ideal” solution as a growing number of athletes expressed concern.

“That is possible, anything is possible at the moment,” said Coe when asked whether the Games could be postponed to September or October.

“But I think the position that sport has certainly taken, and it was certainly the temperature of the room in the conversation I had the other day with the IOC and our other federations, is that nobody is saying we will be going to the Games come what may. But it isn’t a decision that has to be made at this moment,” Coe added.

— Agencies

India’s only badminton player, who has confirmed her Tokyo spot, P. V. Sindhu, in this file photo.