Olympic
Genuinely excited to welcome Bangladesh Olympic team to Tokyo: Japanese envoy
The Embassy of Japan and Bangladesh Olympic Association on Tuesday jointly organized the encouragement rally for the Bangladeshi Olympic team virtually as the host is excited to welcome the Bangladesh Olympic team to Tokyo. Three Olympians representing Bangladesh - Ruman Shana, Junayna Ahmed and Abdullah Hel Baki attended the rally.
Zahid Ahsan Russel, State Minister of Youth and Sports attended it as the chief guest.
Md. Akhter Hossain, Senior Secretary, Ministry of Youth & Sports, Shaikh Bashir Ahmed, Vice President of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA), Syed Shahed Reza, Secretary General, BOA, and other high officials also attended the rally.
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki said as the host nation, they are genuinely excited to welcome the Bangladesh Olympic team to Tokyo.
READ: Bangladesh Olympic Association President meets PM
"On behalf of the Japanese government and Japanese people residing in Bangladesh, I would like to convey my best wishes and a hearty send-off to the Bangladeshi Olympic team," he said.
The Ambassador said they are committed to ensuring that the Games are held safe and secure.
"Therefore, please rest assured and visit Japan without any worry. Do concentrate on your performance. The safe and secure Games in Tokyo will show the world that we can unite people's hearts and minds globally and get over the difficulties with the efforts and wisdom of humankind," said the Ambassador.
Showing gratitude to everyone, Ruman Shana and Junayna Ahmed expressed their goals to achieve their best result this time.
Zahid Ahsan Russel said, “I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude for organizing this pre-departure reception for Bangladesh contingent on the evening of attending TOKYO 2020 Olympic Games virtually."
He said this is a remarkable moment for Bangladesh and her best friend Japan as well.
READ: Tokyo Olympics to be held mostly without spectators due to pandemic
"The relationship between Bangladesh and Japan is very much friendly and historical. Japanese government and her people have extended all-hearted sympathy to Bangladesh during the critical days of our great liberation war," he added.
Richardson will miss Olympic 100 after marijuana test
American champion Sha’Carri Richardson cannot run in the Olympic 100-meter race after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana.
Richardson, who won the 100 at Olympic trials in 10.86 seconds on June 19, spoke of her ban Friday on the “Today” show. She tested positive at the Olympic trials and so her result is erased. Fourth-place finisher Jenna Prandini is expected to get Richardson’s spot in the 100.
Richardson accepted a 30-day suspension that ends July 27, which would be in time to run in the women’s relays. USA Track and Field has not disclosed plans for the relay.
READ: It’s Olympic month for Japan
The 21-year-old sprinter was expected to face Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in one of the most highly anticipated races of the Olympic track meet.
On Thursday, as reports swirled about her possible marijuana use, Richardson put out a tweet that said, simply: “I am human.” On Friday, she went on TV and said she smoked marijuana as a way of coping with her mother’s recent death.
“I was definitely triggered and blinded by emotions, blinded by badness, and hurting, and hiding hurt,” she told NBC. “I know I can’t hide myself, so in some type of way, I was trying to hide my pain.”
Richardson had what could have been a three-month sanction reduced to one month because she participated in a counseling program.
After the London Olympics, international regulators relaxed the threshold for what constitutes a positive test for marijuana from 15 nanograms per milliliter to 150 ng/m. They explained the new threshold was an attempt to ensure that in-competition use is detected and not use during the days and weeks before competition.
Though there have been wide-ranging debates about whether marijuana should be considered a performance-enhancing drug, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency makes clear on its website that “all synthetic and naturally occurring cannabinoids are prohibited in-competition, except for cannabidiol (CBD),” a byproduct that is being explored for possible medical benefits.
While not weighing in on her prospects for the relays, USATF issued a statement that said her “situation is incredibly unfortunate and devastating for everyone involved.” The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it was “working with USATF to determine the appropriate next steps.”
Richardson said if she’s allowed to run in the relay, “I’m grateful, but if not, I’m just going to focus on myself.”
READ: Olympic Day 2021 observed in Dhaka
Her case is the latest in a number of doping-related embarrassments for U.S. track team. Among those banned for the Olympics are the reigning world champion at 100 meters, Christian Coleman, who is serving a suspension for missing tests, and the American record holder at 1,500 and 5,000 meters, Shelby Houlihan, who tested positive for a performance enhancer she blamed on tainted meat in a burrito. Also on Friday, defending Olympic 100-meter hurdles champion Brianna McNeal had a five-year ban for tampering or attempted tampering with the doping-control process upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Now, Richardson is out as well, denying the Olympics of a much-hyped race and an electric personality. She ran at the trials with flowing orange hair and long fingernails.
“To put on a face and go out in front of the world and hide my pain, who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with pain and struggles you’ve never had to experience before?” Richardson said.
It’s Olympic month for Japan
The calendar has flipped over in the Land of the Rising Sun, marking the beginning of Japan’s Olympic Month. The 2020 summer Olympic Games are supposed to kick-off on July 23 with a watered-down grand opening at the newly built national stadium in Tokyo.
Japan had won the bid to hold this sought-after event in Tokyo in September 2013 and since then the metropolitan government as well as the central administration had taken a number of bold measures to ensure a successful holding of this grand sporting celebration on a global scale. Everything was moving almost in a seamless manner well until the unfolding of a great tragedy that the world started encountering in the form of coronavirus, which eventually had upturned many of our plans; including the 2020 Olympic Games. As a result, the Olympic Games that Tokyo was looking forward to, was postponed for a year and the dates and schedules for all related events were shifted to 2021. The organizers, though, kept the old name of Tokyo 2020 unchanged.
During the subsequent year-long period of slow down and emergencies, the organizers of the games were busy finding ways that would allow the events to go ahead and also would not pose any serious health threat to participants, officials, spectators, as well as people of the host city. At the height of the infection during the second half of last year, nobody was able to foresee convincingly about the future of the Games in Tokyo. There were wild card calls for a blanket cancellation or indefinite postponement, as the virus started travelling all over the places causing rampant devastation and increasing the fear that a large-scale gathering like the Olympics might turn out to be suicidal. It should be noted that a second postponement would have virtually killed Tokyo 2020, as the busy window of international sporting events would probably have little option to allow the game to be held at different times other than the following year, and thus killing Tokyo 2020 altogether. Fortunately, this did not happen, though uncertainty remains over the important question of how the events are eventually to be held.
Also read: Olympic Day 2021 observed in Dhaka
For Tokyo, the Olympic debacle is not something completely new. We all know Japan not only successfully staged the 1964 summer Olympic Games, but did it with a tremendous success that raised the profile of the country and also that of the Asian continent, to the extent that the successful holding of 1964 Summer Olympics became synonymous to Japan’s miraculous economic progress. The bullet train Shinkansen is a product of 1964 Tokyo Olympic games, so are many of the country's industrial and consumer products with which the name of the country later became closely associated. The 1964 Tokyo Olympics, thus, marked Japan’s rise as a dominant force in the global economy. The country since then has been playing an expanded role not only in fostering a balanced global growth, but also in finding ways for helping nations that are still in need of help. In the subsequent decades since the 1964 Olympic Games, Japan has become more involved in global issues like combating global warming and environment pollution, disaster reduction and mitigation, public health, urbanization, sustainable development, as well as peace-keeping.
Compared to that, Tokyo 2020 had a real rough ride. The name of the game had been tainted right from the beginning with a number of scandals, ranging from the initially approved logo and scrapping of the already decided plan for a new national stadium to the forced resignation of a number of high officials who were closely involved in the handling of preparations of the games. However, right at the moment when it looked as if Japan had successfully managed to overcome most of the difficulties, the advent of coronavirus dealt a severe blow and the games prospects once again turned extremely bleak. Though a number of issues, including how many spectators will be allowed to each of the Olympic Venues and how to ensure that the incoming flow of athletes and guests from overseas will not fuel further the spread of virus, it now looks like a definite conclusion that Tokyo 2020 will mark the start on July 23.
Japan in general seems to be not lucky enough for what accounts to be hosting the Olympic Games. The rocky road that Olympic preparations had to go through during the last two years speaks all about that. But this is not the first time that Japan’s Olympic luck came across formidable obstacles.
Also read: Tokyo shapes up to be No-Fun Olympics with many rules, tests
Tokyo’s first successful Olympic bid was for the 1940 games, the right Japan had won during the controversial 1936 Berlin Games. The country was earnestly looking forward to the arrival of the game in Asian soil for the first time ever, and a number of new venues were already underway when the start of World War II in European soil in September 1939 effectively put an end to that ambitious dream of Tokyo.
For Japan, the year 1940 was earmarked as 2,600th anniversary of Emperor Jimmu’s accession to the throne as the first emperor in Japanese history and the government planned a number of events coinciding with the hosting of the 1940 Olympic Games. But all that eventually turned out to be shattered dreams and as the consequences of the war for Japan had been extremely devastating, Tokyo for a number of years did not have any opportunity to revive that lost hope and go for another bid. However, the country eventually could realize that dream within two decades.
The Olympics are also a time for hope for many of the athletes who participate. A near empty venue is not what they would expect and welcome. However, at the time of distress, it is definitely better than dumping the hope for good. Let this spirit of Olympic participation remain high, not only until the flags are raised, but also throughout the whole period of two games – 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
Japan's Olympic chief marks pride week with LGBTQ event
The head of the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday took part in an event marking Japan’s LGBTQ pride week at a center in the capital, as activists and dozens of lawmakers pushed for an equality law to be enacted before the games begin in less than three months.
Seiko Hashimoto visited Pride House Tokyo, an international initiative to provide a place for LGBTQ people and others to connect during the games. The first Pride House was set up during the 2010 Winter Games.
Japan is the only country in the Group of Seven major industrialized nations where same-sex marriages are not legally recognized. A Japanese court ruled last month that same-sex marriage should be allowed under the constitution, although the ruling has no immediate legal effect.
Also read: Japan Olympic Minister: Games could be held any time in 2020
“We need to take action now,” Hashimoto said, adding that she wants people to remember the Tokyo Games as a “turning point in achieving diversity and harmony, including understanding for LGBTQ” issues. Hashimoto toured Pride House and met with LGBTQ activists, including athletes, for talks.
Elsewhere in Tokyo, over 40 lawmakers and their aides from the governing and opposition parties — all wearing matching rainbow-colored facemasks — as well as activists and supporters gathered in person and online for what they called a Rainbow Parliament event to push for enactment of an LGBTQ equality act. Tennis great and equal rights advocate Billie Jean King also sent a video message of support.
Late last month, activists submitted a petition with over 106,000 signatures to the governing and opposition parties calling for an equality law before the Tokyo Games begin on July 23. They say momentum for the legislation is growing as Japan gets more attention over its handling of gender equality, diversity and other rights issues.
“We hope to speed up an enactment of the equality act,” said Yuri Igarashi, co-chair of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation.
Kanako Otsuji, a lesbian lawmaker from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said she was a target of bullying at school. “I was often called a ‘manly girl’ and bullied,” she said.
Also read: Japan Olympic Minister: Games could be held any time in 2020
“Many people cannot speak up because of fear of discrimination. Then how can we change the situation? Legal protection is the only way,” she said. “For the children of the next generation to not face this kind of bullying, we need anti-discrimination laws.”
Many sexual minorities still hide their sexual identities in Japan, fearing discrimination at school, work and even from their families. In addition, transgender people must have their reproductive organs removed before their gender can be changed on official documents — a requirement that international medical experts and human rights groups criticize as inhumane.
Aki Nomiya, a transgender activist, said people whose appearances and official records don’t match feel especially vulnerable. “Unless we are free of fear of prejudice and discrimination, we cannot live peacefully,” she said.
Gon Matsunaka, who heads Pride House Tokyo and led Hashimoto on the tour, said the sports world remains unfriendly to LGBTQ people because of its gender specificity.
“In many sports, players are divided between men and women. In sports, masculinity is often emphasized because of competition in speed and power, and sexual minorities are often made fun of or harassed,” Matsunaka said.
Olympic host Japan will not take part in China vaccine offer
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Survey finds Olympic, elite athletes struggling financially
The comments could easily have come from any middle-class town where workers have trouble making ends meet: "No pension plan, no chance of structural income over a longer period of time." ... "I will not have savings until the mortgage of my house is paid off." ... "My parents still have to help me pay for my food."