Nishikori, Osaka cast doubt on Tokyo Games

TOKYO • Japan's top-ranked men's tennis player Kei Nishikori has added his voice to concerns about staging the Olympic Games in July, as his country battles a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Compatriot Naomi Osaka, women's tennis' world No. 2, raised similar concerns on Sunday, saying that the risks of holding the Games amid the pandemic should continue to be carefully discussed.

Japan has extended a state of emergency in Tokyo and three other areas until the end of this month, raising new questions about whether the Games should go ahead. Its vaccination rate is also the lowest among G7 nations.

"This is not like 100 people like these tournaments," Nishikori said at the Italian Open in Rome after beating Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-3, 6-4 in their last-64 clash on Monday.

"It's 10,000 people in a village, playing a tournament," he added, referring to the Olympic Village where athletes will stay.

"I don't think it's easy, especially (with) what's happening right now in Japan, it's not doing good."

World No. 45 Nishikori, who won bronze in the men's singles at the 2016 Rio Games, added that there was still time before a decision had to be made but was wary about the potential for an outbreak in the village, a high-rise apartment complex in downtown Tokyo.

"You can make a good bubble and maybe you can do it," he said.

"There is some risk too. What happens if there's 100 cases in the village? Or it can be thousands."

Osaka has also expressed her doubts, telling the BBC she was "not really sure" whether organisers should press ahead given the prevailing concerns and the continued negative sentiment, with opinion polls stating the majority of Japanese people want another postponement, if not axing.

"I'm an athlete and of course my immediate thought is that I want to play in the Olympics," the four-time Grand Slam winner said.

"But as a human, I would say we're in a pandemic and, if people aren't healthy and safe, then it's definitely a big cause for concern."

With several test events with foreign athletes successfully held, most recently on Sunday, Games organisers, the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government, are standing firm, saying it will go ahead, but some medical experts feel this could be difficult to guarantee.

"I don't know how to protect (foreign dignitaries and athletes) from bringing in variants from all over the world. It's an extremely difficult task to do that and kick off the Olympic Games in July," said Kentaro Iwata, a professor specialising in infectious diseases at Kobe University Hospital.

REUTERS