Tokyo Olympics: July 2021 is ‘best possible date’ for Games as coronavirus sweeps the world

‘This is a logical decision as the epidemic is still going strong in many parts of the world,’ says Hong Kong Olympic official Ronnie Wong

Sports bodies now want to see fair adaptations to qualification systems with 43 per cent of places still to be decided

Reading Time:3 minutes

An official removes banners promoting the 2020 Tokyo Olympic torch relay at Inazawa City Hall in the Aichi prefectural city in central Japan. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 3:49pm, 31 Mar 2020Updated: 10:24pm, 31 Mar 2020

Hong Kong officials and athletes agree the July opening for the Tokyo Olympics next year is the best possible solution in the current crisis.

“We are happy to see the date (July 23-August 9) has now been confirmed so that the athletes have a clear target to look at,” said Olympic committee general secretary Ronnie Wong Man-chiu. “This is a logical decision as the epidemic is still going strong in many parts of the world and therefore the organisers need more lead time for the extravaganza.

“No athlete wants to compete under the fear of coronavirus and we have 16 months left for the Games, which should be enough time for settling the epidemic and making a safe environment for all the participants.”

Wong, a swimmer who competed at the Olympic Games in Mexico City (1968) and Munich in 1972, said the next important issue is extending the qualification process.

Siobhan Haughey is one of two Hong Kong swimmers who have already qualified in the individual events for the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: AFP

“Swimming, for example, will normally end its qualification the month before the Games which means our swimmers can still qualify by June 2021, but that will be decided by the world governing body, which will be announced soon,” said Wong, who is also the technical committee chairman of open water swimming under Fina.