Some of the world’s toughest gun-control laws are posing unusual problems at the Tokyo Olympic Games, from the coach who cannot touch a firearm to strict limits on ammunition.
For Goran Maksimovic, the extent of Japan’s restrictions only became clear when he arrived to coach the national team and found he could not lay a finger on a gun, let alone fire one.
“I was very surprised in the beginning,” said the Serb, a 10m air rifle gold medalist at the 1988 Seoul Games.
Photo: AFP
Just 500 people can own an air pistol in Japan, whose history of controlling guns and other weapons dates back hundreds of years.
Japan’s gun laws are among the strictest in the world and annual deaths from firearms in the country of 125 million people are regularly in single figures.
Getting a gun license is a long and complicated process even for Japanese citizens, who must first get a recommendation from a shooting association and then undergo strict police checks.
It is even more difficult for foreigners, with Maksimovic having to use Japanese assistants as intermediaries when he is coaching.
During the Games, coaches are to be allowed to help with “minor repairs,” as long as the athlete is holding the weapon.
The rules have been relaxed so that technical officials can handle firearms and inspect ammunition under International Shooting Sport Federation rules.
Working around local legislation has been a complicated process, National Rifle Association of Japan president Kiichiro Matsumaru said.
“We were involved in negotiations with the police and government so that teams coming here wouldn’t have any complaints,” he said.
Japan has a limit of 800 rounds of ammunition per shooter at any one time, fewer than at previous Olympics and other international competitions.
Organizers had to come up with a “complex plan” to stop competitors from potentially running out of bullets, Tokyo Games shooting sport manager Peter Underhill said.
“This has been introduced specifically for Tokyo, to help mitigate the effects of this particular piece of legislation,” he said.
There will be a few options, including shipping bullets to Japan through a designated contractor, but the rounds must be stored outside the shooting venue and brought in to replenish supplies.
Teams will also be able to buy ammunition at the Olympic shooting range, though they’ll have to settle for whatever is available, which may differ from their usual specifications.
Jesper Boqvist on Tuesday scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period as the Florida Panthers, after raising their second straight NHL Stanley Cup banner, opened the defense of the title by beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Mackie Samoskevich — getting his second assist, the fifth two-point game of his career — chipped the puck toward the goal and Boqvist knocked it out of the air for the lead with 10 minutes, 20 seconds left. A.J. Greer and Carter Verhaeghe also had goals for Florida, who got 17 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. Frank Nazar had a goal and an assist and Teuvo
Mexico’s teenage playmaker Gilberto Mora has lit up the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as he basks in the limelight afforded by the absences of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono. “I don’t know if I’m the biggest star, and I’m not really interested in that. I think you can always give more,” 16-year-old Mora said before Mexico’s 4-1 win against host nation Chile in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, in which he provided the assist for the opening goal. Next on Mora’s schedule is a quarter-final clash against Argentina this morning Taiwan time, but after
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Monday said that he was playing “terrible tennis” after he was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters by France’s Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. His exit leaves Novak Djokovic as the tournament’s top-ranked player, increasing the 38-year-old Serb’s chances of winning a record-extending fifth title in the Chinese financial hub. In stifling conditions, world No. 54 Rinderknech came back from a set down to stun an increasingly rattled Zverev into submission. It is the second time the Frenchman has beaten him, after bundling him out of Wimbledon earlier this year. A despondent Zverev told reporters the match had
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Nathan Lukes hit a two-run single and Addison Barger had three of Toronto’s 12 hits as the Blue Jays bounced back After taking down the storied New York Yankees in their own ballpark in their American League Division Series on Wednesday, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was ready to revel in the triumph. “Start spreading the news,” Schneider said while popping a bottle of bubbly to set off the Blue Jays’ jubilant celebration inside their Yankee Stadium clubhouse. With the party under way, the familiar lyrics from Frank Sinatra’s version of New York, New York — the Yankees’ long-time victory anthem — sounded in the background as roaring Toronto players sprayed each other with booze in the Bronx. This time, it was their
RSS