Team Great Britain 'confident' that Tokyo Olympics will take place

Team Great Britain's Chef de Mission Mark England on Wednesday said that he was confident that Tokyo Olympics will take place this year despite a surge in COVID-19 cases. 

ALSO READ: IOC's senior official says Tokyo Olympics uncertain due to coronavirus surge

"We are hugely confident of the Games going ahead in the summer," he told Reuters after announcing the selection of four shooting competitors.

"We certainly wouldn't be announcing athletes if that wasn't the case."

The Games were postponed last year due to the novel coronavirus, and this year the Olympics are scheduled to be held between July 23 to August 8. However, Japan announced a state of emergency that has expanded to areas in Tokyo with the surge in COVID-19 in the Asian country. 

England, who sits on an International Olympic Committee (IOC) working group, said the Games would look different with "incredibly comprehensive" health and safety protocols to protect athletes.

Recently, a Kyodo News poll showed around that 80 per cent of Japanese want the Tokyo Olympics to either be cancelled or delayed after a surge in coronavirus cases.

According to the survey, 35.3 per cent want the Games to be cancelled and 44.8 per cent favoured another delay. The Olympics were scheduled to be held last year but was postponed due to coronavirus pandemic and is scheduled to be held between July 23-August 8 in Tokyo. 

On Thursday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency on greater Tokyo and could extend the measure to other areas as Japan struggles to contain a surge in infections.

The Japanese Prime Minister has been criticised and his support ratings have tumbled for his handling of the pandemic since he succeeded Abe in September. Suga's cabinet's approval rate slid 9 points from a month earlier to 41.3 per cent with the disapproval rate at 42.8 per cent, the Kyodo survey showed.

About 79 per cent said Suga's decision to call the state of emergency for Tokyo came too late and 68 per cent were dissatisfied with the government's response to the pandemic, the survey found.

(Inputs from Reuters)