Olympic gold at silver medalist handa pa ring maglaro sa Tokyo Olympics
SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) – Hindi nangangamba ang Olympic gold at silver medallists na si Park In-bee at Lydia Ko, na maglaro sa Tokyo Olympics sa kabila ng pagtaas ng bilang ng kaso sa Japan.
Nitong nakalipas na linggo, ay nag-anunsyo ng isang panibagong virus state of emergency sa Tokyo at ilan pang rehiyon tatlong buwan bago magsimula ang Olympics, bagamat iginiit ng organisers at mga opisyal na itutuloy nila ang palaro.
Ang HSBC Women’s World Championship sa Singapore, ay naghahanda na para sa gagawing warm-up para sa palaro, at kinatatampukan ito ng lahat ng babaeng medallists sa 2016 Rio Olympics.
Bago ang torneo, sinabi ng kasalukuyang Olympic champion ng South Korea na si Park, na hindi nya ire-rekonsidera ang plano nyang maglaro sa Tokyo.
Aniya . . . “I want to go to the Olympics again. Obviously, there are lots of people who are still very worried but from an athlete’s point of view, I just think it’s great the Olympics is happening. We’ve been waiting for it for four years, and it has been five years now.”
Dapat ay noong isang taon pa ginanap ang Olympics, subalit na-delay hanggang ngayong taon dahil sa pandemya.
Sinabi naman ng Rio Olympics silver medallist na si Ko mula sa New Zealand, na tiwala siyang maglalatag ng mahigpit na safety measures ang organisers.
Ayon kay Ko . . . “I believe the IOC and everybody involved alongside Japan are going to make the right decisions in the lead-up to the Games. The 2016 Rio Olympics was one of the best memories I’ve had — on and off the golf course. Being part of the history where golf had not been played in the Olympics for over a hundred years was great, and I would love to be there again.”
Ang dating number one na si Ko ay maglalaro rin sa Singapore tournament — ang unang LPGA event sa Asya sa loob ng halos 18 buwan dahil din sa pandemya, at nagwagi sa torneo sa Hawaii.
Aniya . . .”Winning in Hawaii definitely built that confidence for me to say that, hey, you know, I can be back in the winner’s circle. It’s great to be in that kind of a position again.”
© Agence France-Presse
