Indian shuttlers Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy have finally got some time to pause and reflect due to the COVID-19 pandemic and they are making the most of it by creating a database to analyse their past performances while waiting for another shot at Olympic qualification. The coronavirus outbreak has left over 1.2 lakh people dead and infected nearly 2 million globally, and brought all sports activities, including badminton, to a halt after countries imposed lockdowns. Ashwini and Sikki are doubles specialists and endured an underwhelming season last year. The time at hand has given them a chace to analyse the past performances.

"We don't have any one to sit and do analysis for us, so now that we have time, I'm doing some analysis of our performance. I am jotting down points, about areas where I can improve. I started with my matches and then other players on tour," Ashwini, who represented India at the London and Rio Olympic Games, told PTI. "You can always watch and analyse and understand the patterns but it is different when you see things on paper. It is more concrete. So trying to set up a complete database. My brother will help me out. He made an app for me in the past." Ashwini and Sikki fell at the first hurdle 13 times in 20 tournaments last year, and exited from the second round thrice.

Ashwini also picked up a calf injury during the Syed Modi International but the duo was still confident of qualifying by performing well in the remaining Olympic qualifiers. But with Badminton World Federation (BWF) cancelling all tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic, their fate remains uncertain. "The problem is we don't know the new BWF rules regarding the qualification. There is one year left now, you can't take a two year old performance to select for Olympics, it has to be present performance, so we have to wait," said Sikki. "In badminton, there is a ranking cut off, so how will they accommodate the cancelled qualifiers, how will they count the ranking points, everything is too messed up now," she added. Sikki and Ashwini had reached the finals at Hyderabad Open Super 100 and Maldives International Challenge, last year.

The Indian pair is ranked 28th and will need to be inside top 16 on April 29, 2021 -- the new Olympic cut off date. Ashwini said: "Me and Sikki were confident of doing well in the 4-5 tournaments left but now no one knows what would be the criteria of Olympic qualification and BWF can't really say anything with things changing every moment." They are using the coronavirus-forced break to learn cooking, besides doing some wall practice and exercises for physical fitness. Talking about the effects of the lockdown on mental health, Sikki said: "We have been travelling a lot all these years and now for a month, we are at home, it is fine. But what if it is for 2-3 months, then it will get tough to stay away from the game.

"So it is important to stay motivated for once the lockdown is lifted because you will in a comfortable zone in the break and then all of a sudden you will need to push yourself." Ashwini added: "...now that Olympics have been postponed, nothing is certain and it is tough, you have to be really strong." The economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak has hit sports hard and Ashwini said badminton too will be affected. "It will hit in terms of sponsors, in terms of tournaments being conducted because countries need sponsors to host events, and after this, I'm not sure what the economic status of many countries would be. "The way things are, it is will be tough to host tournaments, it will not be easy for countries to have tournaments with many big companies shut and struggling to survive," she signed off.

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The International Olympic Committee will face "several hundred million dollars" of added costs because of the postponement of the Tokyo Games, the body's president said. Thomas Bach spoke in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt on Sunday. Estimates in Japan put the overall cost of the postponement at USD 2 billion-USD 6 billion. Except for the IOC portion, all added costs will be borne by the Japanese side according to an agreement signed in 2013 when Tokyo was awarded the Olympics. Bach said it was "impossible to say for now" the extent of the added costs for the IOC caused by the coronavirus pandemic. "We agreed with the prime minister that Japan will continue to cover the costs it would have done under the terms of the existing agreement for 2020, and the IOC will continue to be responsible for its share of the costs," Bach said.

"For us, the IOC, it is already clear that we shall be faced with several hundred million dollars of additional costs." Before the postponement, Japanese organizers put the official cost of the games at USD 12.6 billion. However, a government audit report in 2019 said the costs were at least twice that. All but USD 5.6 billion of it is in taxpayer money. Tokyo said the 2020 Games would cost about USD 7.3 billion when it won the bid seven years ago. On Friday, the CEO of the Tokyo organizing committee said the pandemic left some doubts about the games going ahead next year. "I don't think anyone would be able to say if it is going to be possible to get it under control by next July or not," Toshiro Muto said, speaking through an interpreter.

"We certainly are not in a position to give you a clear answer." Bach was asked about the possibility of another postponement. He did not answer directly, but said later in the interview that Japanese organizers and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe "made it very clear to me that Japan could not manage a postponement beyond next summer at the latest." Bach was also asked if the pandemic provided an opportunity for some athletes to violate the doping rules with no threat of testing. Bach countered that the delay could allow new testing methods to be developed. He also said tests made before the Olympics would be saved for 10 years for retesting.

"No one should feel confident that they don't get caught," he said. Bach was asked about Russia's status for the Olympics in 2021. Last year, Russia was hit with a four-year ban from international sports ¿ including the Olympics ¿ because of a doping scandal. However, many Russian athletes were expected to be allowed to compete if they could show they were clean. "The Russia question is currently under consideration by the CAS, the independent international Court of Arbitration for Sport, so it wouldn't be right for me to comment on it," Bach said. Bach said he had not decided if he will run for re-election next year. He also pointed out that the IOC had insurance that covered a cancellation, but not a postponement. The election will take place in 2021, and Bach is required to notify of his intentions six months before the vote. He was first elected in 2013 and is widely expected to seek another term. "There's still plenty of time," he said.

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Teenage sensation Manu Bhaker believes India shooters were at the peak of their performances before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their Olympic plans and created a global health crisis. The 18-year old pistol shooter, who was one of India's medal hopefuls in Tokyo Olympics, was disappointed at the Summer Games being postponed but said well-being of people comes first before anything.

"I was expecting some tournaments to be affected but suddenly everything has been impacted by the pandemic, everything is getting cancelled. I feel both positive and disappointed at the same time. We were at the peak of our performance recently and would have been nice to compete at the Olympics right now," Bhaker told India Today.

"But then, health is more important than anything. But when we practice with the team, there is always that competitive spirit, because we can see people doing better than us. So that's lacking," she said.

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The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will have to be cancelled if the Coronavirus pandemic isn't brought under control by next year, the organising committee's president warned, ruling out further delays. The comments, in an interview with a Japanese sports daily published on Tuesday, come as medical experts doubted whether the pandemic can be sufficiently contained by next year to hold an event drawing participants and spectators from around the world. The pandemic has already forced a year-long delay of the Games, which are now scheduled to open on July 23, 2021.

No more delays

But Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori was categorical when asked by the Nikkan Sports daily whether the Games could be delayed until 2022 if the pandemic remains a threat next year, replying: "No." "In that case, it's cancelled," Mori said. Mori noted the Games had been cancelled previously only during wartime, and compared the battle against Coronavirus to fighting an invisible enemy. If the virus is successfully contained, "we'll hold the Olympics in peace next summer", he added. "Mankind is betting on it."

Masa Takaya, a Tokyo 2020 spokesman, declined to comment on a possible cancellation of the Games and told reporters that Mori's remarks were based on the chairman's own thoughts. But the comments will add to growing questions about the postponement, decided last month.

Vaccine is a must

On Tuesday, the head of Japan Medical Association warned it would be difficult to hold the Games next year if a vaccine has not been found. "I would not say that they should not be held, but it would be exceedingly difficult," Yoshitake Yokokura told reporters.

And last week a Japanese medical expert warned that he was pessimistic that the Olympics can be held in 2021. Kentaro Iwata, a professor of infectious diseases at Kobe University, said: "Japan might be able to control this disease by next summer, I wish we could, but I don't think that would happen everywhere on Earth, so in this regard I'm very pessimistic about holding the Games next summer."

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Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated it will be impossible to host the Olympics even next year if the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic cannot be contained till then. The 2020 edition of the event was pushed back to 2021 in wake of COVID-19 crisis that has hit the entire world. Answering a question related to Olympics, Abe said it is important for all athletes and spectators to feel safe and for that to happen, the virus will have to be contained. "We've been saying the Olympic and Paralympic Games must be held in a complete form, in that athletes and spectators can all participate safely. It would be impossible to hold the Games in such a complete form unless the Coronavirus pandemic is contained," Abe was quoted as saying by CNN.

Earlier, Tokyo Olympics chief had warned the event will have to be scrapped in case of further delay. "In that case, the Olympics will be scrapped," Yoshiro Mori told Nikkan Sports when quizzed about pushing the Games further if needed. Tokyo Olympics was supposed to be held in July-August this year but had to postponed due to COVID-19 crisis. The head of Japan Medical Association (JMA) had earlier said that hosting the event in the summer of 2021 remains difficult till the time an "effective vaccine' is developed.

"Unless an effective vaccine is developed I think it will be difficult to hold the Olympics next year," JMA President Yoshitake Yokokura told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday. "I'm not saying at this point that they shouldn't be held. The outbreak is not only confined to Japan... it's a worldwide issue."

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