THE country’s chef de mission to the Tokyo Olympics believes the Games will go on scheduled from July 23 to August 24 despite the state of emergency being enforced in Japan because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
And Mariano “Nonong” Araneta, tasked to oversee the country’s participation in the Olympics, believes there would be more Filipino athletes qualifying for the “greatest show on earth.”
“Those are strong indications that the Olympics would be held on schedule as long as we follow all safety health protocols,” Araneta told BusinessMirrror on Tuesday. “It’s really a big morale booster also for the IOC [International Olympic Committee].”
Araneta said that because international sports events are being staged all over the world, there is a slim chance that the Tokyo Olympics would be cancelled.
“I don’t see any cancellation I think, despite several survey reports from Japan,” Araneta said.
Among those Araneta cited as strong indicators for a green-and-go Tokyo Olympics are the Olympic qualifiers in weightlifting (Uzbekistan), rowing (Tokyo) and taekwondo (Amman).
Tokyo has also hosted test events in gymnastics, shooting, diving, athletics, BMX freestyle, among others, in the last month or so.
“Qualifiers in karate [Paris], the ongoing boxing competition in Dubai, pro boxing, basketball, football and golf events are also strong indications that the Tokyo Games would go on,” he said.
The Tokyo organizers, Araneta added, also designed a specific “Playbook” for everyone to follow once the Olympics get going. The book indicates the dos and don’ts during the entire Games.
Araneta also stressed that more Filipinos would qualify for the Olympics, including golfers Yuka Saso and Bianca Pagdanganan, karate’s Junna Tsukii, judo’s Kiyomi Watanabe, athletics’ Eric Cray and Kristina Knott and skateboarder Margie Didal.
The cutoff for Olympic qualifiers is in June.
Boxers Eumir Felix Marcial, Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Irish Magno, pole vaulter EJ Obiena, gymnast Carlos Yulo, rower Cris Nievarez, weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz and taekwondo jin Kurt Bryan Barbosa have qualified for the Olympics.