Khaldon Azhari 

TOKYO: Holding the Tokyo Olympics was the right decision, Nasser Al-Majali, Secretary-General of the Jordan Olympic Committee, said in an interview.

Despite urgent calls to cancel Tokyo Games amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Al-Majali said it was “a correct decision.”

He explained: “The dreams of our players would not have been realized without holding the Olympics. Many Arab and non-Arab players had the opportunity to realize their dreams.” He noted Jordan’s silver medal in taekwondo, and Qatar’s gold in the high jump.

Asked about his impression of the general atmosphere in Tokyo, especially with concerns over the coronavirus, Al-Majaliexpressed his thanks to the Japanese “for their kind hospitality. They try as much as possible to be hospitable, and they really are.” He added: “The Japanese are apologizing to us because they can’t do more due to the coronavirus situation. Even outside the Olympic Village, they are very civil, and that’s their nature.”He said it was a shame that the Games had to be held with so many restrictions.

Regarding the routine of the Jordanian Olympic delegation in Japan, Al-Majali said, “We spend most of the time in the village and between the tournament hotels, in compliance with the laws in force to reduce the possibility of anyone being infected inside or outside the Olympic Village. But we hoped that we would have the opportunity to learn about Japanese culture.”

Al-Majali took advantage of the interview with Pan Orient News to extend his gratitude to the city of Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, which hosted the Jordanian Olympic delegation in a pre-game camp, saying, “I would like to extend special thanks to the city of Noshiro. We receive messages from the people of Noshiro all the time asking us to send them Jordanian flags signed by the athletes. We thank them and hope that we will have the opportunity to visit them with our athletes in the future.”

Jordan is participating with an Olympic delegation of 14 athletes. Regarding the results of the Jordanian players so far, Al-Majali said that the participation of the Jordanian delegation has been “good” in general, but the most important thing is the participation of Saleh Sharbati, who won the silver medal in taekwondo, the second medal in the history of Jordan’s participation in the Olympic Games, after the gold won by Abu Ghosh in taekwondo at the 2016 Rio Olympics.