Tokyo Olympics 2020: MC Mary Kom, Eliud Kipchoge and other leading athletes hail IOC's decision to postpone Games

The IOC announced a first-of-its-kind postponement of the Summer Olympics on Tuesday, bowing to the realities of a coronavirus pandemic that is shutting down daily life around the globe and making planning for a massive worldwide gathering in July a virtual impossibility.

The International Olympic Committee said the Tokyo Games “must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020, but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.”

It was an announcement seen as all but a certainty as pressure mounted from nervous athletes, sports organizations and national Olympic committees — all forced to deal with training and qualifying schedules, to say nothing of international anti-doping protocols, that have been ruptured beyond repair.

Here’s a look at how leading athletes reacted to the latest development on the prestigious sporting event:

Indian medal hope MC Mary Kom describes it as “excellent”:

Mary Kom’s views were echoed by veteran shuttler Saina Nehwal:

Eliud Kipchoge, the man who broke the two-hour marathon barrier in 2019, looks forward to defending his Olympic marathon title in Tokyo in 2021:

Swimming star Katie Ledecky says “now is the time” for people to support those at the frontline battling the disease:

An interesting perspective offered by British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson:

“No room in July for celebration” says Abhinav Bindra, India’s only individual gold medallist till date:

Team USA, the most decorated in the history of the Olympics, begin a ‘new path’:

Wrestler Bajrang Punia was also among those who welcomed the decision to postpone the Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With inputs from AP and ANI