Tokyo 2020 chaos: China likely to follow IOC lead, says Asia official – ‘athletes interest takes priority over broadcast rights and sponsorship’
- Wei Jizhong says the IOC is in a difficult position, with thousands of athletes having prepared for at least four years for the Tokyo Games
- He said the Chinese Olympic Committee is unlikely to follow Canada and Australia and pull out of the Games
China is unlikely to break ranks with the International Olympic Committee and pull out of the Tokyo Olympics, according to a former high-ranking Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) official, adding that the interests of athletes should take priority over broadcast rights and sponsorship.
Wei Jizhong, honorary life president of the Olympic Council of Asia, said China would follow IOC guidelines as the Olympic body comes under increasing pressure to postpone the 2020 Games amid the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Canada became the first country to withdraw from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics because of the ravaging effects of the virus, followed quickly by Australia.
“The Chinese Olympic Committee will follow the IOC,” said Wei, former secretary general of the COC. “The IOC is facing a very difficult decision, either way it will cause issues.
“The problem is that we should first think about the athletes. They have prepared for at least four years for these Olympics and if we delay it by one or two years, most of these athletes would have lost their chance.
“There are other reasons, such as broadcasting rights and sponsors, but the IOC can discount those for now. It’s about the athletes. Four years of effort and an opportunity lost.”
Wei said the OCA, which organises the Asian Games, would also follow the IOC’s lead. Insiders say the IOC is expected to announce a postponement within the next couple of days. The decision will affect at least 11,000 athletes, half of whom have already qualified for Tokyo.
China was once the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the first cluster outbreak occurring in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province. The mainland has since successfully contained the coronavirus with social restrictions in Hubei gradually easing.
However, the pandemic is causing havoc in the rest of the world with more than 330,000 cases globally and more than 14,600 deaths, of which 3,270 are from the mainland.
Covid-19 has brought global sport to a grinding halt with most of the major events postponed or cancelled. The Olympics, due to take place from July 24 to August 12, remains the only event of significance that is so far going ahead.
It has reached a stage where many sporting bodies and even athletes feel the fight against Covid-19 is more important that the Olympics.
The IOC and Japanese organisers, after initially insisting it was “full-steam ahead”, have this week taken a more realistic stance, saying they are studying options for a postponement but have ruled out cancelling the Games.
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was quoted as saying: “If it is difficult to hold the Games in such a way, we have to decide to postpone it, giving top priority to the health of the athletes.”
The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee said in a statement: “While we recognise the inherent complexities around a postponement, nothing is more important than the health and safety of our athletes.
“We are in the midst of a global health crisis that is far more significant than sport.”
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