Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 will be postponed: IOC member Dick Pound

The IOC said on Sunday the body would wait four more weeks before announcing its decision on the fate of the July 24-August 9 Games, amid mounting calls for them to be rescheduled.

Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official Dick Pound said Monday a postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics is now inevitable as the world reels from the coronavirus pandemic.

The IOC said on Sunday the body would wait four more weeks before announcing its decision on the fate of the July 24-August 9 Games, amid mounting calls for them to be rescheduled.

Pound however believes the IOC -- which ruled out a cancellation of the Games -- is now laying the groundwork for a postponement.

"My interpretation of the IOC's communications is they don't want to cancel, and they don't think they can continue with the July 24 date," Pound told AFP. "So you're looking at the 'P' word - postponement.

"They're going to explore options with the Japanese of course, and then there all kinds of stakeholders -- international federations, NOCs, athletes.

"And then in four weeks they're going to try and come out with a plan B and make it as specific as they can make it in that time period." Pound, who is Canadian, said the "astonishing" spread of COVID-19 across the globe left the IOC with no other choice.

"This is not something that's going to clear up by July 24," Pound said.

"And this thing isn't going to go away by September or October. A lot of the biggest countries in the world are just about overwhelmed, and it's just starting to take root in Africa. It's a no-go in my view." A one-year postponement to 2021 remained the most likely option, Pound added.

"I think the one-year postponement is the most feasible because it gives you the most time to organise," he said.

Coronavirus: Japan minister hints that Tokyo Olympics 2020 may be postponed

While answering a question in the Japanese parliament, the minister said the contract with IOC called for games to be held within 2020.

Japan’s Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto on Tuesday hinted that the Tokyo summer games could be postponed due to coronavirus outbreak. While answering a question in Japanese parliament, Hashimoto said Tokyo's contract with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) "calls for the Games to be held within 2020".

"Looking at the contract once again, it says in Article 66 that the IOC holds the right to cancel the Games by deactivating the contract if... the Games are not held in 2020," Hashimoto said.

"At this moment, the Tokyo 2020 committee, the IOC and Tokyo (city government) are doing their best to make sure the Games will be held from July 24," she added. The Tokyo Olympics 2020 is scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 9.

Hashimoto added that May looked like an "important benchmark" for deciding whether the Games go ahead as scheduled.

"An IOC member has said the end of May is the final deadline for making the decision," she said, referring to remarks by senior IOC member Dick Pound. "So I think the end of May is an important benchmark," Hashimoto added.

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"We're making utmost efforts so that the IOC can be convinced that the Tokyo Games can be held safely."

The Japanese govt Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stepped up national measures to contain the virus, urging schools nationwide to close for several weeks and calling on organisers of large events to consider cancelling or delaying them.

Badminton world number 1 Momota hurt in Malaysia crash, driver dead: Report

The accident happened in the early hours on a major highway as the group headed for Kuala Lumpur International Airport in a van, official news agency Bernama reported.

Badminton world number one Kento Momota was among four people lightly injured in a crash in Malaysia on Monday which left their driver dead, reports said, hours after he won the Malaysia Masters tournament.

The accident happened in the early hours on a major highway as the group headed for Kuala Lumpur International Airport in a van, official news agency Bernama reported.

The vehicle crashed into the back of a lorry, which was travelling slowly, and the driver died at the scene, the agency said.

"The victim's body and all the injured were sent to" hospital in administrative capital Putrajaya, fire and rescue department senior official Norazam Khamis was cited as saying.

The fire and rescue department did not immediately respond to requests for comment and the identity of the others hurt was not immediately clear.

Kento Momota had been in Kuala Lumpur to take part in the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament.

He won easily on Sunday, defeating Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 24-22, 21-11 in a boost for his Tokyo Olympics preparations.

The 25-year-old Japanese enjoyed a stellar 2019, winning a record 11 titles including the World Championships, Asia Championships and All England Open.

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