Tokyo Olympics Will Be 'Scrapped' In Case Of Further Delay: Games' President Yoshiro Mori

Yoshiro Mori stated that if due to any other unforeseen circumstance, further delay takes place in hosting the Olympics, it will be called off completely.

Photo: AFP

Tokyo: Tokyo Olympics will be 'scrapped' entirely in case of further delays, Games' President Yoshiro Mori warned on Tuesday. The 2020 edition of the multi-national event was pushed back to 2021 in wake of coronavirus pandemic that stalled the entire world. Mori stated that if due to any other unforeseen circumstance, further delay takes place in hosting the Olympics, it will be called off completely. "In that case, the Olympics will be will be scrapped," Mori told Nikkan Sports when quizzed about pushing the Games further if needed. Tokyo Olympics was supposed to be held in July-August this year but had to to postponed due to COVID-19 crisis. The International Olympics Committee (IOC) set the new dates as July 23 till August 8 next year. The head of Japan Medical Association (JMA) had earlier said that hosting the event in the summer of 2021 remains difficult till the time an "effective vaccine' is developed. "Unless an effective vaccine is developed I think it will be difficult to hold the Olympics next year," JMA President Yoshitake Yokokura told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday. "I'm not saying at this point that they shouldn't be held. The outbreak is not only confined to Japan ... it's a worldwide issue."