The International Olympic Committee has set a new qualification deadline—June 29, 2021—for the Tokyo Olympics now set to held from July 23 in 2021, as per a communication sent to all National Olympic Committees and International Sports Federations. The IOC has left it to respective ISFs to decide their final qualification period if falling before this date.
The letter from James Mcleod, director for NOCs and Olympic Solidarity, stressed on the urgency to announce qualification systems so as to give athletes certainty. It was for this reason that IOC and the Tokyo Games Organising Committee announced fresh dates for the Summer Games as soon as possible after announcing its postponement.
Giving further details with regards to the process of qualification, the IOC letter said, "We understand that at this time these are unlikely to include the full details now on the dates and locations of the specified events, recognising that these will follow later as the impacts of COVID-19 and its related restrictions become clearer. We aim to finalise the adapted qualification systems by mid-April, with the details on specific events to follow when available."
The IOC advised that the revised qualification plans for all sports should follow the original qualification pathway or process as much as possible. On the issue of sports which use ranking systems to define qualification, the IOC said that it's a sensitive matter and the interests of those athletes close to qualification ranking as per previous cut-off dates, must be protected. It gave the international federations "full discretion to define the new ranking deadline and pathway."
It's a serious issue in sports like badminton. Badminton World Federation froze the rankings which will be backdated to week 12 - the week following the last international tournament that was played, the All England Open 2020. The ranking lists issued on March 17, 2020, will serve as a basis for entry and seeding in the next international tournaments, on which, the BWF stated, there was no clarity when it will take place.
Indian badminton stars Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth had called for the same. Srikanth, particularly, will be keen to know whether he makes it or not as he was ranked 14 in the week after the All England Open. Top 16 players automatically qualify for the Olympics. In men's singles event, only Sai Praneeth, as of now, ranked 13, looked 'safe' enough to make it when all competitions were suspended.
Those who had already qualified, their quotas would remain untouched. Only 57 per cent athletes have been able to qualify.