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Show must go on: Indonesia supports Japan’s Olympics schedule
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Indonesia's National Olympic Committee (NOC) chief Raja Sapta Okto Hari speaks with journalists after attending the opening of the NOC annual meeting in Jakarta on Monday. (Tribunnews/Abdul Majid)
T
he ongoing threat of the novel coronavirus now raises questions about the timeline of the Tokyo Olympics, slated for July and August of this year. Indonesia has shown firm support for the games to proceed according to schedule.
Indonesia’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) chief Raja Sapta “Okto” Oktohari said on Monday that his party had sent a letter to both Japanese and Chinese NOCs regarding the current situation of the coronavirus outbreak, which had affected both countries. In addition to offering sympathy, Okto said, his organization offered any support that Japan might need to overcome the difficulty of organizing the event amid the outbreak.
“We are offering any assistance to and support for our friend Japan, which has been working hard to stage the Tokyo Olympics,” he said on the sidelines of Indonesia’s annual NOC meeting in Jakarta.
Indonesia’s full support of Japan in staging the quadrennial event may also aim to aid the country’s mission to win its bid for the 2032 Olympics.
The Indonesian NOC plans to use the Tokyo Games to showcase the country’s readiness to host the Olympics by establishing Rumah Indonesia (House of Indonesia) to promote the country and garner support from other Olympic participants.
Rumah Indonesia is projected to cost Rp 200 billion (US$13.8 million). The house will be built in a strategic location inside the athletes’ villages in Tokyo.
Indonesia will compete against Brisbane, Australia, and a joint bid by North and South Korea to host the 2032 Olympics.
As of Monday afternoon, Japan recorded 256 cases of the coronavirus and six deaths. The Tokyo Olympics is set to be held from July 24 to Aug. 9.
Last week, International Olympic Committee (IOC) senior member Dick Pound said it was not impossible to reschedule the Olympics to next year but wanted athletes who were training for Tokyo to know the IOC was fully committed to having them at the opening ceremonies on July 24, Reuters reported.
The World Health Organization has met the 2020 Olympics organizers to advise them on the coronavirus situation, and “no decision has been made to cancel the major sporting event in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak”, CNBC reported.
Okto said Indonesia had displayed similar support for the Philippines SEA Games last December, which had been criticized over lack of readiness in organizing the multisport event.
“We showed some support while others opted to criticize the organizers during the Philippines SEA Games,” he said.
“And the result was positive as we got many services and positive feedback from the host, the Philippines.”
Team Indonesia’s Tokyo Olympics chief of mission Rosan Roeslani said the current coronavirus outbreak had caused him to postpone his plan to visit Japan to conduct a survey before the games in Tokyo. The survey was previously scheduled for the third week of March.
“Our preparation is still ongoing. We will keep communicating with the IOC,” he said.
Earlier, Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said that his ministry would wait for the IOC or the decisions of other world authorities on the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. He said Indonesia would obey any final recommendation issued regarding the Olympics.
This is similar to the minister’s gesture when facing the same crisis with the Philippines Para Games, which were eventually postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak.
