Kiren Rijiju dismisses coronavirus threat, says Olympics preparations in full flow

New Delhi: Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports on Thursday (February 27) brushed aside the threat of coronavirus and said India would participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in full flow. His remarks came as National Rifle of Association announced that they have asked the shooters to not travel overseas and also said that they may opt-out of the Olympic test event if the situation does not improve.

"That should be not an issue, Olympics preparations are going in full flow, let us focus on the global event, India is going to participate with full force at Tokyo. In today`s world, a global community is there, you cannot separate one country from another. We have to fight every situation together," said Rijiju.

He added, "Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be a historic moment for all Asian countries. We are going to send a large Indian contingent. Players should understand that they do not only represent themselves, but they represent the country." 

Earlier, in an e-mail reply to ANI question, if the Olympics will take place as planned in view of the Covid-19 outbreak, the IOC had said: "The preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 continue as planned. Countermeasures against infectious diseases constitute an important part of Tokyo 2020`s plans to host a safe and secure Games."

IOC also added, "Tokyo 2020 will continue to collaborate with all relevant organisations which carefully monitor any incidence of infectious diseases and will review any countermeasures that may be necessary with all relevant organisations."

The opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics will take place on July 24 and the games will conclude on August 9.

Coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people in 37 countries, causing more than 2,600 deaths in past few months. Wuhan city in China has been reported as the epicentre of a novel coronavirus outbreak. The virus was first detected in Hubei, China and has now spread to many parts of the globe.