Waiting Over A Year, Mohammad Ahsan's Men's Doubles Hope The Olympics In Japan Will Still Be Held

JAKARTA - Indonesian men's doubles Mohammad Ahsan hopes Japan will not falter and still host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on July 23-August 8.

According to Ahsan, the Olympics should not be cancelled because he and all the athletes in the world have been waiting a year longer to compete in the world's most wide-spoken games.

"I hope I definitely want the Olympics to be held. But if it is canceled, qadarullah (it is the destiny of Allah SWT)," ahsan said when contacted in Jakarta reported by Antara, Saturday, May 15.

Ahsan also does not mind if the Olympics are decided to be held without foreign or local spectators. He believes whatever the decision of the organizing committee for the implementation of the Olympics that is safe and secure for the entire contingent.

Not only Ahsan as an athlete, the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) has also given its full support to the tokyo Olympics that have been delayed by one year.

The fate of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is in question amid the insistence of Japanese citizens who want the quadrennial party to be cancelled in line with the uncontrolled COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The Olympics were threatened when 350,000 people signed a petition rejecting the multievent event. The petition has even been handed over to the governor of Tokyo.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga extended the emergency status of COVID-19 in Tokyo until the end of May to reduce the rate of spread of the virus.

Japan has also expanded the COVID-19 emergency in three other regions just 10 weeks ahead of the start of the Tokyo Olympics on July 23.

Despite the rejection, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee in recent days has successfully held a series of test events involving international athletes.

Mohammad Ahsan/Hendra Setiawan has already secured one ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is just waiting for a determination from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) regarding their escape to Tokyo.

Other athletes of similar status are men's singles Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and Jonathan Christie, Gregoria mariska Tunjung women's singles, Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu women's doubles, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo men's doubles, Praveen Jordan/Melati Daeva Oktavianti mixed doubles, and weightlifters Eko Yuli Irawan and Windy Cantika.

But there are already several other Indonesian athletes who are ready to leave, such as Lalu Muhammad Zohri from the athletics branch, Riau Ega Agatha and Diananda Chairunisa from the archery branch, and Vidya Rafika Rahmatan Thayiba from the shooting sport.