After all the postponement, the Tokyo Olympics is all set to start officially tomorrow i.e., on 23rd July at the Olympics village in Tokyo.
The greatest sporting event of all time is scheduled this time to happen between 23rd July to 8th of August with competitions happening from 24th July to 5th August.
For the first time in history, no spectators will be allowed to watch the Olympic matches. Previously, around 10,000 Japanese fans were permitted to watch the matches, but it was canceled later to make sure the event runs smoothly amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The event was originally supposed to happen in 2020 but was a year late owing to the pandemic.
With this Olympics, it will be Japan’s second time hosting Olympics, as they already hosted Olympics nearly 56 years ago to this date. This year will also see the introduction of skateboarding, karate, surfing, and sport climbing to the Olympics. This time, the Olympics will feature 33 sports with 339 events happening across 42 venues.
The list of all the sports happening this time at the Olympics are aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, baseball/softball, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, judo, karate, pentathlon, rowing, rugby, sailing, shooting, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.
Over 40 Indian athletes will represent India this time at the Olympics and men’s hockey captain Manpreet Singh and six-time world boxing Champion Mary Kom will be the flag bearers for India at the opening ceremony happening on the 23rd of July which will officially kick start the competitions.
Even when representing the country at the greatest level, the fear of getting exposed to the virus has been there for athletes from all over the world. Adding to the fear is the news of two athletes testing positive to the COVID-19 with 12 organisers has reminded us once again of the additional hurdles everyone has to face while playing, conducting, and organising the Olympics at the Olympic village.
Though the athletes are tested upon the arrival to Japan and being quarantined, no one can say that everyone is safe and it is only a matter of time until we know how smoothly will the Olympics happen this time amid a pandemic.
Keeping this apart, players are all ready for the biggest event of their lives, and representing their country at the greatest level will be an honor. Within a few days and by 8th August to be precise, we will know who shined and which country has made their name at the top of the list this time.