Oyedeji welcomes new date for Tokyo Games

By Adeyinka Adedipe

Former D’Tigers captain Olumide Oyedeji has welcomed the new date for the Tokyo Olympics, commending the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Games organisers for taking a bold step capable of saving humanity from the Coronavirus pandemic.

Though the news of the new date surfaced on Sunday, the IOC, however, confirmed July 23 to August 8, 2021 as the new date of the largest sporting event in the world, which will bring together 10,000 athletes competing in 339 events across 33 sports.

Oyedeji who captained the senior men’s Nigerian national basketball team to the London 2012 Olympic Games, noted that the decision would also afford the athletes the chance to train better after the defeat of COVID-19, while urging everyone to stay safe at this critical time in human history.

“I am excited that the IOC and the Tokyo Games’ organisers have been able to come up with a new date for the Olympics. I guess it will help the athletes’ preparation as soon as Covid-19 is defeated because most of them would have become rusty.

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“What is important right now is for everyone in sports to stay healthy by taking all the advise we have been given to beat this deadly virus. It is only those who are alive that will witness the Olympics next year. So, we all need to stay clean and alive,” stated Oyedeji who is the President of the Nigeria Olympians Association.

The former Seattle Supersonic centre who led a video campaign to sensitise the public on the need to imbibe hygienic practices, called on sport stakeholders to wash their hands at all time and stick to other tips that will keep them alive.

“This is a difficult time for athletes, coaches, administrators and fans in Nigeria and all over the world. It is a very tough phase that will pass. Many have died due to exposure to this dreaded virus but I am sure we will all be alive to witness a turn-around for sports once the virus is defeated,” added Oyedeji who lamented over the huge number of lives lost to COVID-19.