THE world is currently at war — not between nations but between humans and a super-virus.
Many of us have watched movies of humans, infected by viruses, turning into zombies who then kill the uninfected until a band of super heroes destroy them to save mankind.
Covid-19, which started in Wuhan, is ravaging the world with many countries now under lockdown — just like in zombie movies.
The coronavirus pandemic may evoke a doomsday spectre but I believe the apocalypse is not coming.
Humans will beat Covid-19 and rule the planet for eternity, that is what I feel.
In sports, the rampaging virus has wrecked their calendars with many competitions being either postponed or cancelled.
The Euro2020 will now be known as Euro2021 while this year’s Champion League and Europa League have been postponed indefinitely.
It’s unadvisable for humans to play sports outdoors until our super-doctors find a vaccine to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The Olympics is the biggest sports event in the world.
Everyone on this planet dreams of winning medals and breaking records in the Olympics.
Tokyo was scheduled to host the Games on July 24-Aug 9, but going by how Covid-19 has affected the athletes, the Olympics has been postponed by a year.
So far, only 56 per cent of the Olympic quota has been taken up by athletes as many qualifying events, across all sports, have been postponed.
Canada, Australia and several other countries are against the idea of having the Olympics this year.
This has led to immense pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to shift the Games to next year.
It was not a decision to be taken lightly, with only three Olympic postponements (1916, 1940 and 1944) in history due to World Wars.
Postponing the Games is a good idea. It will relieve the stress in athletes as they are already struggling to maintain their top-level training under lockdown.
The challenge to maintain a high fitness level is particularly pronounced in sports like aquatics and athletics, where intensive training is required to even qualify for the Olympics.
Basically, Olympic preparations have been blown off course, so it is better to postpone the Tokyo edition to next year.
The athletes should be given a fair deal. Their lives are on the line too, just like you and me, in facing Covid-19. And they have to stay indoors.
In modern sports, inadequately prepared athletes will not make it big. If the Olympics are held this year, we might see “overweight” athletes huffing and puffing to the finish line in venues, devoid of spectators.
Yesterday, the IOC and Tokyo organisers made the grim decision of postponing the Olympics. Yes, it is a painful move but it’s the right call.
The big headache for IOC is how to redesign the qualifying process. Start from ‘zero’ again? Will it be fair to the athletes?
We might even see some athletes, who were aiming for their final Olympic appearance in Tokyo, retiring without achieving their dreams.
These would be among the shortcomings but IOC really had no choice but to delay the Olympics. Don’t fret, it is not the end of the world. Humans will survive the Covid-19, and continue watching the Greatest Show on Earth for many years to come.