Sri Lankan Olympic contingent checks in at Games Village

Judoka Chamara Dharmawardana, shuttler Niluka Karunaratne, gymnast Milka Gehani De Silva, shooter Tehani Egodawela and swimmer Aniqah Gaffoor have arrived at the Athletes’ Village during the past few days.

Apart from those five competitors, four more Sri Lankans are due to check in starting from tomorrow.

Swimmer Matthew Abeysinghe is scheduled to leave the US on Saturday and is expected to reach Tokyo on Sunday.

On the same day, Mathilda Karlsson, who became the first ever Lanka to compete in equestrian in 125-year-old Olympic history, is due here.

The last two Lankan competitors to arrive on July 27 will be athletes – sprinter Yupun Abeykoon from Italy and middle distance runner Nimali Liyanarachchi from Sri Lanka.

Chef-de-Mission Gamini Jayasinghe who represented Sri Lanka at the Chef-de-Missions’ Meeting in Tokyo today said all competitors, officials and VIPs arriving in Japan will be subject to a three-day mandatory bio-bubble.

“The organisers gave a firm ruling that only those who have completed this three-day bio-bubble could go to the opening ceremony,” he said today.

At the time of writing, the Olympic Village has gradually turned out to be a busy place as the organisers make their best efforts to shield the competitors from COVID-19 pandemic which postponed the games by a year.

Japan is getting ready to treat the world with a superlative opening ceremony with an Asian blend. Be it Japan, South Korea or China, Asian nations have always made it a point to depict their proud culture at Olympic level.

Hence, there is no exception here in Tokyo as the stage is set for Friday’s grand opening ceremony.

More than 48 hours before the opening ceremony, baseball/softball emerged as the first action at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In the curtain raiser match played today, hosts Japan beat Australia 8-1 at the Fukushima Baseball Stadium.