One Year Postponement For Olympics, Says IOC Official Pound   

HYDERABAD: An Olympic cauldron was ignited in Japan and the 2020 Summer Olympics also known as Tokyo 2020 is scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. But, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told that Tokyo Olympic Games could be postponed due to the spread of coronavirus.

Senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official Dick Pound said that the postponement of Tokyo Olympics this year is unavoidable as the entire world is suffering 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.

"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.

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