Taiwan’s baseball authorities on Wednesday said that the nation is not sending a team to the final qualifier for the baseball tournament at the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games in Mexico this month, citing COVID-19 concerns.
The decision means that Taiwan will not take part in the Olympic baseball event, the first time since 2008 it has featured in the Summer Olympics.
CTBA secretary-general Richard Lin said the decision was made because the association could not find a location to conduct group training for the national squad with Taiwan under a level 3 COVID-19 alert and no local government was willing to provide a venue for that purpose.
The association also had concerns over a pandemic prevention plan proposed by the host country Mexico, which the association said would inadequately protect the health of players and coaches.
Taiwan was to host the final qualifiers this month, but canceled the event due to restrictions imposed by the central government after a local outbreak.
Mexico took over as host for the event, which is to be played from June 22 to 26.
Meanwhile, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee president Seiko Hashimoto yesterday ruled out a cancelation or further postponement of the Olympics.
“We cannot postpone again,” Hashimoto said an interview published by the Nikkan Sports newspaper.
However, Shigeru Omi, Japan’s top medical adviser, on Wednesday, told a parliamentary committee it would be abnormal to host the Olympics amid the current state of infections, and organizers had a responsibility to scale down the event if the situation continues.
Omi yesterday told lawmakers that guidance given to the Japanese government was not reaching the International Olympic Committee.
“We are now considering where we should give our advice,” he said. “If they want to hold [the Games], it’s our job to tell them what the risks are.”
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