Opinion | Global sport took Covid-19 seriously when it became a home game

Name: What’s going on with the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo?
Uploaded: 2021-02-02T02:00:17.000Z
Duration: 3 min 33 s
Description: What’s going on with the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo?

Reaction to Wuhan Zall football team in Europe and racism toward Asian athletes speaks volumes

Son Heung-min is target in early days but world moves on as NBA and English Premier League affected

Reading Time:4 minutes

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Jonathan White

Published: 10:00am, 2 Feb 2021Updated: 10:22am, 2 Feb 2021

A year ago the coronavirus was seen as the “Chinese virus” and Wuhan – the city where the first cases of what would become a global pandemic were recorded – was the global focus.

As with anything in life, sport provided a window into the wider world.

China’s best female footballer, Wang Shuang, was locked down in Wuhan as her teammates prepared for their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifiers, which had been moved from Wuhan to Nanjing, then to Australia.

While Wang was sharing videos of playing socially distant football with her brother on the apartment rooftops or training in her home, her teammates were pictured training in the corridors of their Brisbane hotel before vital games against Thailand, Taiwan and Australia in Sydney.

03:33

What’s going on with the rescheduled 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo?

Across the world in Europe, Wuhan Zall, the city’s Chinese Super League team, were trying their best to prepare for a season that had already been pushed back – and would not start until July.