By Chathura Ranasinghe

[caption id="attachment_136365" align="alignleft" width="379"] Sujeewa Wijayanayake, Deputy Technical Operations Manager of the Tokyo Olympics Softball and Baseball Championships[/caption]

According to media reports, there is growing uncertainty on the holding of the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to begin on 23 July.

The main reason for the uncertainly is that the healthcare industry and the citizens of Tokyo do not seem to want to be in the midst of a dangerous coronavirus spike during Olympic time.

Speaking to The Morning Sports from Tokyo, Sujeewa Wijayanayake, Deputy Technical Operations Manager of the Tokyo Olympics Softball and Baseball Championships, said yesterday (16): “In Tokyo, the risk of coronavirus has risen. The people living in the host cities of various participating countries are protesting against the staging of the event.

"However, no such protest is seen in Sanmu (in the Chiba Prefecture) that is assigned as the host city for the Sri Lankans. I met its Mayor and he confirmed it. Some medical associations as well as trade unions have expressed their displeasure over the staging of the Olympics. Yet we are still of the opinion that the Games can go ahead as planned.”

But due to the growing uncertainty, leading athletes who are to take part in Tokyo 2020 are now turning their attention on the professional Diamond League circuit, mainly in the hope that their financial stability will be protected by participating in them during the pandemic.