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Foreign Sports in Brief

07 May 2021

* Nine Japanese Governors believe Tokyo 2020 should be either cancelled or postponed

Nine Japanese Governors believe the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games should be either cancelled or postponed depending on the state of the Covid-19 pandemic, as Japan considers extending emerging measures to combat a rise in infections. Saitama, Shizouka and Yamanashi - which are all set to stage competitions at the Games - are among the nine prefectures where the Governors issued caution over the event taking place this year in a survey carried out by The Mainichi Shimbun. Their responses come as the country reportedly considers extending the state of emergency in Tokyo due to a recent spike in Covid-19 cases in the Olympic and Paralympic host city, revealed the Inside the Games on Wednesday (5).
All 47 Governors of the Japanese prefectures were sent the questionnaire by The Mainichi Shimbun, which asked them for their thoughts on the staging of the Games which is scheduled to start in less than 80 days’ time. Among the four options to select in response to the first questions were the Games “should be held whatever the circumstances”, “should be cancelled or postponed depending on the circumstances”, “now is the time to decide to cancel or postpone”, or “I don’t know”.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun, Governors of Akita, Ibaraki, Saitama, Yamanashi, Nagano, Shizuoka, Tottori, Oita and Okinawa chose the second option. They were also among 41 Governors that replied “yes” or “somewhat yes” when asked if their prefecture “stood to gain” if the Games went ahead. Saitama is set to host basketball, football, golf and shooting at the Games, while Shizouka and Yamanash are due to stage the track and road cycling race, respectively. The picture shows athletes competing in a half-marathon race in Sapporo, which doubled as a test event for Tokyo 2020.

* Billie Jean King Cup, formerly Fed Cup, moved from Budapest due to Covid-19

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is searching for a new host city for this year’s Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup or the main annual international team competition in tennis) Finals after cancelling its agreement with Budapest. The finals of the tournament, previously known as the Fed Cup, is scheduled to take place later this year, but it will no longer be held in the Hungarian capital. According to reports, the Hungarian Tennis Association sent a letter to the ITF to confirm it was not feasible to stage the event due to Covid-19 safety concerns. Budapest’s withdrawal will be another blow to the ITF which has already had to postpone the tournament twice because of the coronavirus pandemic. “We have been working closely with the Hungarian Government and the Hungarian Tennis Association to review all feasible options to reschedule this year’s finals,” the ITF President David Haggerty had been quoted as saying in the international media on Wednesday (5).

* Alun Wyn Jones will be confirmed as Captain of the British and Irish Lions

Wales great Alun Wyn Jones will be confirmed as Captain of the British and Irish Lions when Head Coach Warren Gatland names his 36-man squad yesterday (6) for the tour of South Africa. Jones, 35, has been the favourite for the role since leading Wales to the Six Nations title in March. He will be going on his fourth Lions tour, after being a key part of the series in 2009, 2013 and 2017. The Lions squad too was confirmed Thursday. Jones has won a world record 157 international caps and has featured in the last nine Lions Test matches, including captaining the team to victory in the decisive third Test against Australia in Sydney in 2013.

* NBA playoff tracker: Bucks survive as Westbrook moves closer to history

After a tough battle against Brooklyn the night prior, Milwaukee was able to hang on at home against Washington in a 135-134 win yesterday in the ongoing NBA play-offs, despite Giannis Antetokounmpo fouling out with less than two minutes in the fourth quarter. Trailing by one, the Wizards had a chance to win as Garrison Mathews heaved a three-pointer from 50 feet away and it nearly went in. Russell Westbrook logged his 33rd triple-double this season as he closes in on Oscar Robertson’s all-time record of 181. He’s now just two away from tying the record with six games remaining in the regular season. The Bucks trail the second seed Nets by one game as Brooklyn will look to snap a three-game losing streak on Thursday (6) in Dallas. In the photo is Anthony Davis who will have to carry the load for the Lakers with LeBron James out.

* Eight fixtures in Round-5 of the season

The round-5 of the English County Cricket Season began yesterday (6). Durham and Derbyshire are the only two counties that are not playing in this round while James Anderson plays his first game of season, for Lancashire.


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