The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) on Monday extended its support for the new date for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Notably, the new dates of the Tokyo Olympics were confirmed on Monday. The quadrennial tournament which was slated to kick off in July this year will now commence on 23 July and conclude on 8 August in 2021. The same was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday after a meeting of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee.
Earlier, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were pushed back by the IOC in consultation with the Japanese government, in view of the health risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
An official statement from IOC also stated that the Paralympic Games will now be held from 24 August to 5 September.
“The 33 summer Olympic federations showed unanimous support to the IOC proposal of new dates, underlining the necessity to work together with solidarity in these difficult times,” IANS quoted ITTF President Thomas Weikert as saying via Xinhua news agency.
Raul Calin, the ITTF Secretary-General, also underlined support for the decision.
“With the new dates announced, and once we receive their guidance, we will work closely with the IOC and IPC, as well as with our continental associations and athletes commission to make the necessary adjustments to our qualification pathways.
“We do hope this process can be completed within April 2020 in order to give enough time to our stakeholders to adjust their planning,” Calin noted.
(With inputs of IANS)