For the aspiring athletes, the road to Tokyo has been long, uncertain and arduous. The event is likely to be strangely lifeless — no revelry after victories or families to offer support.
Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga earlier told members of a parliamentary committee that although he has 'never put the Olympics first,' it’s was the IOC that has the final say.
A July poll taken after the games were rescheduled found that one-third of the Japanese public wanted them canceled outright, and slightly more thought they should be postponed again.
International Olympic Committee’s V-P John Coates said the games will start as planned on 23 July, adding that the Olympics have never been cancelled outside of world wars.
For javelin throwers, a serious injury that needs a surgery to the throwing arm would have simply meant the end of a career. But not for Neeraj Chopra.
In tactical terms, the shirtless protest was worse than a self-goal. Suddenly, the fiascos of the AI Summit were forgotten, and the Youth Congress’s disruption became the issue.
IAF is fine with accepting the aircraft with 'must-haves', even if some other steps remain pending, which may take at least another year, it is learnt.
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