Honorable PM Narendra Modi would be interacting with Tokyo Olympics bound athletes on July 13
PM Modi is going to encourage the athletes for their participation in the marquee event. A total of 115 athletes have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, which is slated to begin on July 23 and end on August 8.
PM Modi to encourage the Indian contingent before Tokyo Olympics
The event will be held virtually on July 13 at 5:00 p.m. People can register for the event at pmevents.ncog.gov.in
During the 2016 Rio Olympics, a total of 117 Indian athletes had qualified for the games but were unable to improve the medal tally after the 2012 London Olympics, which was also India’s highest medal tally during a single tournament, i.e., India has won a total of six medals. Most of the athletes would be trying to change that during the Tokyo Olympics.
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Tokyo Olympics to be held without spectators owing to COVID
The COVID-19 situation in Japan has got worse. The country is reporting a total of 920 new COVID-19 cases everyday, which is also the highest recorded cases since mid-May and just two weeks are left for the Olympics to begin.
Taking the cognizance of the COVID-19 situation in mind, a meeting was held in on Thursday and it was decided that the Tokyo Olympics would be held without spectators due to the sudden increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. This decision was agreed upon unanimously. The meeting was attended by Thomas Bach, who is the chief of International Olympic Committee along with four other attendees, who were representatives of four bodies, i.e., the organizing committee, the international Paralympic Committee, the Japanese and Tokyo metropolitan governments.
What the officials have to say?
The Japanese government had announced a state of emergency, which include lockdown restrictions due to the rising cases of COVID-19 from Monday, i.e., July 12 to August 22. The games will be held amidst the state of emergency.
Seiko Hashimoto, who is the Japanese president, apologized to all the people who had bought tickets for the marquee event and mentioned that the games would be organized in “limited format.”
After holding a talk with government officials, Tokyo organizers and Olympic and Paralympic representatives, Hashimoto said, “It is quite unfortunate that the games would be held in limited format due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 infections.”
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