24 July, 2020 - In normal times, today would have been the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics and also the culmination of the 4-year long Road To Tokyo series. Instead in these unprecedented times (am I the only one tired of this phrase?), we have to wait 52 weeks more.
Sports will not change the ongoing crisis, it will certainly not create a vaccine or a cure but it does generate a feel-good factor in these depressing times. Just look at how the ongoing England-West Indies series has riveted the cricketing world together, or how the conclusion of the various European football leagues has brought back a tiny sense of normalcy. After all, as Mr. Nelson Mandela once said “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand.”
With the coronavirus pandemic showing no signs of receding any time soon, and potential vaccines still at very early trials stage, there is a big cloud on the Games taking place next year as well. And it is not just the actual event itself. Multiple Qualifiers to be held globally are still to take place. Quite a few nations might not even be able to send a team at this juncture. But we can wait and watch and hope that everyone is able to participate!
In the meantime, the organizers have been busy preparing the contingencies including alternate Qualifying schedules. There is a growing spectre of the events being held without spectators and with strict quarantine & bio-secure bubble rules in place! But all this is a still a matter of conjecture.
In India News, the 3x3 Basketball Qualifiers have been moved away from Bangalore and will be held in Graz, Austria, thus dropping India out of the Qualification race as well!
Meanwhile lets all stay home and stay safe, so that we are all still part of the Olympics movement!
Links: Road To Tokyo: Episode 14
