Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 22, 2020: Sri Lanka and other Asian NOCs have thrown their support behind the International Olympic Committee's decision to continue preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in July, according to Maxwell de Silva, Secretary General of the Sri Lanka National Olympic Committee.
De Silva represented Sri Lanka NOC at a teleconference held last week between the IOC and Asian National Olympic Committees – part of the IOC's consultations with stakeholders of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“IOC President Thomas Bach in his address to Asian NOCs was very optimistic that the Games would go ahead as planned in July and said there was no need for any drastic decision at this stage,” De Silva reported.
At the end of the consultation and Q&A, the IOC had asked each Asian NOC to vote for the IOC recommendations sent out in a communique on March 17 – the key one being that the Games would stick to the July 24-August 9 schedule.
“We said ‘Yes’ to the IOC for the simple reason to show solidarity with our Japanese friends and also since Asia should be behind Japan at this critical juncture,” De Silva said.
Sri Lanka NOC was one of around 15 NOCs which had sent in written questions beforehand to the IOC.
De Silva said the concerns Sri Lanka had raised were: (a) qualifying for many sports had been cancelled and what plans did the IOC have to ensure “justice for all”; (b) why don’t the IOC push back the Tokyo Olympics to the end of the year, as happened in 1956 when the Olympics were held in Melbourne and Stockholm (equestrian only) in November and December.
“President Bach acknowledged our worries over qualification, especially in badminton, and said the IOC would work with the International Federations to ensure justice for all athletes,” De Silva said.
“As for my second question, the IOC did not give a direct answer but stated Japan had done a lot and that the Games would proceed in July.
“We are very happy the IOC has consulted all NOCs which shows they are clearly a democratic organisation,” De Silva added.
Last Friday, Bach told the New York Times “different scenarios” were being considered for the first time for Tokyo 2020.