After one of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members Dick Pound claimed that the upcoming Tokyo Olympics would be postponed, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) General Secretary stated that no official decision has been taken.

Pound, in his interaction with USA Today, said that the upcoming Tokyo Olympics would not start on the scheduled date of June 24. He said, “On the basis of the information the IOC has, the postponement has been decided.”

Advertisement

“The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know. It will come in stages. We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense,” he added.

However, the IOA is not ready to pay any heed to Pound’s statement unless the IOC conveys an official decision. But the fate of the Games can be set in four weeks’ time, believes IOA General Secretary Rajeev Mehta.

“We have not received any official document from IOC. The official stand of IOC as of now is that they will make a decision on the Olympic Games in four weeks. I do not consider Dick Pound’s statement official,” Mehta said.

On Monday, Mehta had said that the IOA will wait for at least a month before taking any decision regarding sending athletes to Tokyo for the Olympic Games.

“We have to wait for a month and then we can make a decision in consultation with the IOC and our sports ministry as well,” he added.

Notably, the dreaded coronavirus has brought the entire sporting calendar to a standstill. Many high-profile tournaments including the Euro 2020, English Premier League, Serie A, La Liga,  Indian Premier League and the NBA have been cancelled or postponed.

Meanwhile, despite the health concerns, Japan and the IOC were adamant to keep the Tokyo Olympics on schedule and consequently, the sporting fest was the most prominent tournament not to be rescheduled in view of the global health crisis.

But the ongoing worldwide crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already killed more than 16,500 people and infected over 3,81,700 people worldwide, forced Canada and Australia to withdraw from the Games.

Both the countries stated that it won’t be sending its contingent to Tokyo 2020 Olympics unless the tournament happens next year.