Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Road To Tokyo: Episode 13

“Coronavirus Stopped Play” 

Well, the dreaded thing has happened. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been postponed and will be held no later than the Summer of 2021. In short, no clarity on when the Games will happen. This was on expected lines with sports events being cancelled all over the world, training facilities closed and even athletes quarantined. So, our Road To Tokyo journey has its destination changed. However, the destination is unknown for now. Even the Olympic flame which had commenced its journey is now on hold. 

Since Episode 12, the Indian contingent showed an impressive increase. 
  • 9 Indian Boxers made it through the Asian Qualifiers – a record high. And the World Qualifying event is still pending. Vikas Krishna Yadav, Ashish Kumar, Satish Kumar, Amit Panghal and Manish Kaushik among the Men and Lovlina Borgohain, Pooja Rani, Mary Kom and Simranjit Kaur amongst the Women qualified in their respective weight categories. 
  • Athletics - Shivpal Singh joined Neeraj Chopra in Men’s Javelin Throw. 
Total Count – Sports - 7, Events – 35, Entries - 47, Participants – 74 

All other Qualifiers were abandoned. Meanwhile, we also await clarity on the status of already qualified athletes as well as future qualification events. We can just wait and watch as the world grapples with the Coronavirus. 

Sports has always been the biggest healer and will continue to do so. The Tokyo Games, whenever they happen, will be the symbol of the resilience of the human spirit and act as a balm to the embattled world. 

Links: Road To Tokyo: Episode 12

No comments: