You may know this thing under another name, you may know it as the Tokyo Olympics to be precise. The disaster is dragged on ever since the construction of the Olympic village has started and it's not over yet.
Photo by Alex Smith on Unsplash
First it started with an extremely poor budgeting. Expenses have exceeded the budget 3 times before 2020 and since then only God know how much money was spent to make the whole place and process safe as covid is still existent.
With the 2021 Tokyo Olympics now just 48 days away, Japan still ranks last in vaccination rate among the 38 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to online research site Our World in Data. Roughly 8.7% of its 126 million residents had received at least one shot as of Thursday. Only 3% of the Japanese public – mostly health-care workers and the elderly – is fully vaccinated. source
If the data is correct, the situation is critical. Online surveys say citizens have been against the country organizing the games and this is not the only obstacle organizers are facing.
After the Olympics chief resignation over his sexist comments a lot of volunteers have also resigned. Then there was another wave of resignation.
About 10,000 of the 80,000 registered volunteers supporting athletic events had quit as of Wednesday, according to Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee officials.
Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the Organizing Committee, told Japanese media he does not believe the volunteer withdrawals will impact the operation of the Games, which were postponed last year due to the pandemic. The rescheduled event is due to start on July 23. source
Now according to Reuters, quite many schools near Tokyo are cancelling more than half the 280,000 tickets reserved for them. So basically foreigners are not allowed to participate, this has been decided a long time ago and now locals are refusing participation as well.
The list is long but there's no point in listing every reason why this event is a disaster. Basically everything that could have gone wrong, has gone wrong.
As about athletes, a lot of them has already withdrawn and will not be participating at the Olympics. My main focus is on tennis, so let's see what's the situation in this regard.
Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem are the top players who have announced they will not be playing at the Olympics. Two of the younger generation,
Denis Shapovalov and Casper Ruud are the other two who will not be present. Roger Federer is uncertain at this point but my personal opinion is that he won't be there. I don't see him making the long trip to japan and go through strict covid measures just to win one or two matches and if something goes wrong, he can be quarantined for two weeks or more. Just doesn't worth it. David Goffin has also announced his not going to take part in the Olympics and so has done Cristian Garin.
Andy Murray is the current title holder, so he has the occasion to defend his title and maybe he's in a good position (although I don't think he has much chance) as big names are not going to take part in the event.
I suppose Tsitsipas and Medvedev are going to try to beat Djokovic and fight each other to get the title. An Olympic gold at this age would mean a lot to them, not to mention the fact that the games are organized every four years, so it's a rare occasion.
Djokovic is going to do everything possible to win as well as this may be the last chance for him. At the next one he's going to be 37 and at that age no way he's going to be able to keep up with the new generation. He's already in trouble, so this is the last train for him. He has a bronze medal from 2008 but bronze is not equal gold.
The stake is huge for them, I expect a huge fight and that's why it's going to be interesting.
Naomi Osaka has withdraws from Wimbledon but will play in Tokyo. She's Japan's weapon in women's tennis and i don't think she can afford not to participate.
Serena Williams also is going to participate, she's also in a tough position as it's the last chance for her as well, not that there's a real chance for her in my humble opinion.
Simona Halep has been struggling with a serious injury, she had one month of recovery time, which is far from enough at this level, but life must go on. She's going to be at the Olympics as this is the last chance for her too.
This will be the most unusual edition and not in the good way. As about financial losses... better not talk about it.
I can't wait to see Osaka in Tokyo, I think she took an important stand to protect her mental health, something that's not talked about much in sports, but that it plays a very important role when it comes to athlete's well being.
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