Tokyo Olympics 2020: IOC chief Thomas Bach says qualified athletes will retain quotas despite postponement of Games

Athletes who have already secured qualification for the Tokyo Olympics will retain their quotas in spite of the postponement of the mega event to 2021, the International Olympic Committee confirmed in a tweet on Saturday.

File image of  Thomas Bach. Reuters

The IOC and Japanese organisers postponed the 24 July — 9 August event earlier this week but confirmed that those among the 11,000 athletes set to compete in Tokyo who had already earned their spot would keep it.

"It is clear that those athletes who have qualified for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 remain qualified. This is a consequence of the fact that these Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, in agreement with Japan, will remain the Games of the XXXII Olympiad,” stated the tweet, with the quote being attributed to Thomas Bach, President of the IOC.

The virus has wreaked havoc with sports schedules and forced the cancellation of many Olympic qualifiers across many sports. Athletes have also been restricted in their training due to measures taken to stop the spread.

Though a huge blow to Japan, which has invested $12 billion in the run-up to the Games, the decision to postpone was a relief to thousands of athletes fretting about training with the world heading into lockdown to fight a disease that has killed thousands of people.

With inputs from Reuters.