We were disappointed with postponement of Olympic Games - Ghanaian runner Benjamin Azamati

News of the postponement of 2020 Olympic Games was welcomed with disappointment in Ghana’s athletics camp, Benjamin Azamati, a member of the team has disclosed to www.ghanaweb.com

Revealing the reaction of the team to this site, Azamati said the mood that greeted the announcement by the International Olympic Committee was that of dismay and despondency.

He said the team was looking forward to the sports festival and was bent on making the qualification time to appear in Tokyo.

He mentioned fellow sprinter Joe Paul who has already qualified for the Games as the one who was heavily hit by the announcement.

That notwithstanding, Azamati says they are hopeful that normalcy will return soon for the Games to be staged.

“It really got to them. Looking at Joe Paul, Sean Sarfo and the others. Joe Paul had already qualified for the Olympics and was ready for the Olympics and this had to come so it really got to him but he understands the situation and gives thanks to God. He took it in good fate. I was very disappointed because I was really looking forward to my first Olympic Games. I don’t know why this happened but maybe it happened for my good”, he said.

In March this year, the IOC and the Japanese government jointly announced a postponement of the Games.

"The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating," IOC and Tokyo 2020 organisers said in a joint statement.

"The Games...in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community," it added