VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED

India’s table tennis star Kamal says Japan cannot guarantee the safety of 17,000 athletes living together in Tokyo’s Olympic Village

- MIKE WALTERS

IT IS the nightmare scenario Tokyo 2020 organisers dare not contemplate – and for which they can offer no guarantees.

As calls for this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics in Japan to be postponed grew from background murmurs to a full-blown chorus, Indian table tennis star Sharath Kamal (right) delivered an unplayable serve to the host nation.

What happens if a single person contracts coronavirus in an athletes’ village where more than 17,000 competitors and team officials will rub shoulders in a global sporting colony?

Kamal, a four-times Commonwealth Games gold medallist, turns 38 a fortnight before the scheduled start of play in Tokyo on July 24.

He said: “As an athlete, I obviously want the Olympics to happen but not in July.