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Sports Desk: Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has said she is \u201cnot really sure\u201d the delayed Tokyo Olympics should go ahead as the city battles a surge of coronavirus cases less than three months before the start of the Games.<\/p>\nSports Desk: Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has said she is \u201cnot really sure\u201d the delayed Tokyo Olympics should go ahead as the city battles a surge of coronavirus cases less than three months before the start of the Games.<\/p>\n
A virus state of emergency in the Japanese capital and other parts of the country was extended last week as organisers weigh up whether to press ahead in the face of mounting pressure to cancel the global spectacle.<\/p>\n
When asked if it was correct to host the Games in the middle of a global pandemic, the 23-year-old reigning US and Australian women\u2019s champion told the BBC \u201cto be honest, I\u2019m not really sure\u201d if they should be held as planned from July 23.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m an athlete, and of course my immediate thought is that I want to play in the Olympics,\u201d the four-time Grand Slam winner said at the Rome WTA tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut as a human, I would say we\u2019re in a pandemic, and if people aren\u2019t healthy, and if they\u2019re not feeling safe, then it\u2019s definitely a really big cause for concern.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 10,000 athletes from 200 countries and regions are set to travel to Tokyo for the Games, with a decision expected in June on how many domestic fans, if any at all, can attend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never played an Olympic event, so it\u2019s not like I would have anything to compare it to,\u201d Osaka said of the possibility of no spectators.<\/p>\n
Despite a smaller death toll than many countries, Japan\u2019s vaccine rollout is moving slowly and some areas have seen record cases as more infectious variants drive fresh waves of contagion.<\/p>\n
More than 300,000 people have signed a online petition launched last week titled \u201cCancel the Tokyo Olympics to protect our lives\u201d in a bid to sway the government and Olympic officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sports Desk: Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has said she is \u201cnot really sure\u201d the delayed Tokyo Olympics should go ahead as the city battles a surge of coronavirus cases less than three months before the start of the Games. A virus state of emergency in the Japanese capital and other parts of the country […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":68753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n