Subscribe to our Telegram channel for our latest stories and breaking news.
The 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan from 23 July to 8 August 2021
The Olympics were originally due to take place in 2020 but were postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Ever since the first modern Olympics was held in 1896 in Athens, it has only been disrupted three times before. The first time it happened was in 1916 due to the First World War, and then during the Second World War in 1940 and 1944, when they were cancelled altogether.
Despite this postponement, the upcoming games will still be referred to by its original name for marketing purposes, and it will still show “Tokyo 2020” on all of the winner medals.
Image via The New York Times/AFP
While no international fans are allowed to travel to attend Tokyo 2020, not everyone in Japan is onboard with the idea of having the Olympics this year amidst the pandemic
Japan’s borders are still closed to foreigners due to COVID-19 restrictions, so only athletes and their delegations are allowed to enter the country. In fact, Tokyo is still currently under a state of emergency until 11 July, and local authorities will only decide if local fans can attend after the emergency ends.
According to a nationwide survey conducted by the leading Asahi Shimbun newspaper, an overwhelming 83% said the Tokyo 2020 Olympics should be postponed or cancelled. This was affirmed by other surveys conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun (59%), TBS News (65%), and the Kyodo News Agency (70%).
This is partly down to concerns that games would lead to a new “Olympic” strain of the coronavirus, which has been labelled potentially “a huge tragedy and would be a target of criticism, even for 100 years”.
Tokyo 2020 will see four new sports being contested for the first time
The four new sports are Surfing, Skateboarding, Sport climbing, and Karate.
The inclusion of these four new sports means that Tokyo 2020 will have more sports in competition than ever before.
Other new inclusions for this edition include Baseball & Softball, which was previously contested between 1992 – 2008, 3-on-3 Basketball under the Basketball category, and Freestyle BMX under Cycling.
A total of 28 Malaysian athletes have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics so far. They are contesting in nine different sports categories.
Shooting – Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi
Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi, women’s individual 50m rifle three-position.
Image via Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi (Facebook)
Golf – Gavin Kyle Green & Kelly Tan
Gavin Kyle Green, men’s golf.
Image via Golf Channel
Kelly Tan, women’s golf.
Image via LPGA
Archery – Khairul Anuar Mohamad & Syaqiera Mashayikh
Khairul Anuar Mohamad, men’s individual recurve.
Image via Zimbio
Syaqiera Mashayikh, women’s individual recurve.
Image via Stadium Astro
Gymnastics – Farah Ann Abdul Hadi & Jeremiah Loo Phay Xing
Farah Ann Abdul Hadi, women’s individual all-around (artistic).
Image via Al Jazeera
Jeremiah Loo Phay Xing, men’s individual all-around (artistic).
Image via Bernama/The Malaysian Reserve
Track Cycling – Azizulhasni Awang & Shah Firdaus Sahrom
Azizulhasni Awang, men’s sprint and men’s keirin.
Image via Bernama/The Malaysian Reserve
Shah Firdaus Sahrom, men’s sprint and men’s keirin.
Image via Astro Awani
Athletics – Lee Hup Wei & Azreen Nabila Alias
Lee Hup Wei, men’s high jump.
Image via New Straits Times
Azreen Nabila Alias, women’s 100m sprint.
Image via New Straits Times
Sailing – Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy, Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif, Nuraisyah Jamil & Juni Noor Jamali
Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy, men’s Laser.
Image via New Straits Times
Nur Shazrin Mohd Latif, women’s Laser Radial.
Image via AFP/Berita Harian
From left: Nuraisyah Jamil and Juni Noor Jamali, women’s 470.
Image via New Straits Times
Diving – Nur Dhabitah Sabri, Ng Yan Yee, Cheong Jun Hoong, Leong Mun Yee & Pandalela Rinong
Nur Dhabitah Sabri, women’s individual 3m springboard.
Image via New Straits Times
Ng Yan Yee, women’s individual 3m springboard.
Image via Stadium Astro
Cheong Jun Hoong, women’s individual 10m platform.
Image via New Straits Times
From left: Pandalela Rinong, women’s individual 10m platform and women’s synchronised 10m platform and Leong Mun Yee, women’s synchronised 10m platform.
Image via New Straits Times
Badminton – Chan Peng Soon, Goh Liu Ying, Chow Mei Kuan, Lee Meng Yean, Aaron Chia, Soh Wooi Yik, Soniia Cheah Su Ya & Lee Zii Jia
From left: Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying, mixed doubles.
Image via New Straits Times
From left: Chow Mei Kuan and Lee Meng Yean, women’s doubles.
Image via Berita Harian
From left: Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, men’s doubles.
Image via AFP/Badminton Planet
Soniia Cheah Su Ya, women’s singles.
Image via Sports247
Lee Zii Jia, men’s singles.
Image via Lee Zii Jia (Facebook)
However, with only a few weeks left, two more athletes may still secure their spots
According to a report by The Star, Malaysian Swimming (MS) has applied for two slots at Tokyo 2020 under the universality allocation. This would see the best-ranked male and female competitor of any nation with no qualified athletes qualifying through a quota. If the allocation is approved, swimmers Welson Sim and Phee Jinq En will join the Malaysian contingent at the Olympics.