TEHRAN - President of National Olympic Committee (NOC) of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Reza Salehi Amiri, said that according to the officials of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and 2020 Asian Beach Games will likely take place as scheduled in 2021.

The Sixth Asian Beach Games is due to be held in Sanya, China. Sanya would be the second Chinese city to host the Asian Beach Games, after Haiyang 2012.

In the meeting attended by top officials of the Olympic and Paralympic committees, which was held with the focus on the Asian Beach Games Sanya 2020, Salehi Amiri said: “Based on what the IOC and OCA top officials have said, the Tokyo Olympic Games and China Beach Games will likely be held on the scheduled dates.”

However, he insisted that there is still possibility of postponement and even suspension of both tournaments, especially the Tokyo Olympics, considering the looming danger of the second wave of Covid-19, and the limited time before critical decisions must be made.

"We cannot stop our current plans just because of the possibility of suspension of the competitions, but we must continue our preparation and necessary planning in the lead up to the Olympics and Paralympic as well as Asian Beach Games," said Salehi Amiri

“In order to continue the Olympians’ training, we provided facilities for them to follow their training in their homes. we also provided psychological services for these athletes," the president of the Iranian NOC added.

March next year has been set as a possible deadline for making a decision on the Tokyo Olympics, according to Japan's Olympic minister Toshiaki Endo. The Olympics is scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021.