Tokyo Olympics Start: Hosts Japan has kicked off the 2020 Olympic Games in style as they beat Australia 8-1 in softball. The initial two days of games are being held at a baseball stadium at the foot of lush hills in Fukushima, a region badly affected by the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster.
💪 Japan is off to a flying start at #Tokyo2020, after defeating Australia 8-1 in softball 🥎#UnitedByEmotion | #StrongerTogether | @WBSCsoftball pic.twitter.com/MGELymLbGe
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) July 21, 2021
Tokyo Olympics Start: Sixteen months after the decision was made to delay the Olympics and two days before the official opening ceremony in Tokyo, the games in Fukushima will, like most other Olympic events, be held behind closed doors due to surging infection figures.
For 19 days, through Aug. 8, 11,000 athletes from 205 countries and regions, will compete at venues in and outside the Japanese capital, which is currently under a state of emergency.
Australia’s softball team, with three bronze medals and a silver in softball, took extra precautions considering the difficult circumstances, arriving in Japan on June 1 to ensure a good chance to prepare for the big event.
Tokyo Olympics Start: Softball, one of the sports added by Tokyo organizers, returns to the Olympics for the first time since 2008, when Japan won its only gold medal in the sport. It is joined by baseball, also dropped after 2008, and new sports, surfing, sport climbing, skate boarding and karate.
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