What's at stake if the Tokyo Olympics goes ahead as planned

THERE are just 85 days to go before the once-delayed Summer Olympics are due to open in Tokyo, but worryingly, the calls for the quadrennial event - set to take place from July 23 to Aug 8 - to be cancelled altogether are growing larger and louder.

The Japanese government's dogged determination to successfully stage the sporting extravaganza despite the coronavirus pandemic and provide a "light of hope to the world" is still being heavily criticised in many quarters, and understandably so.

At a time when the world's best athletes should be hitting their peak in their respective field and ready to perform on sport's grandest showcase, there are many distractions on their mind. There are concerns over how the Games will be organised given the necessity of health and safety measures, uncertainty over what they can and cannot do while in Tokyo or other parts of Japan, and fears about whether the Olympics might be scrapped should the pandemic worsen in the coming weeks.