LONDON: Some international sports federations proposed to the International Olympic Committee on Thursday that the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games be held in September-October 2021.

The proposal was floated in extraordinary teleconferences with IOC members and senior officials of international federations for sports included in the games.

Multiple federation officials called for the games to be held next summer or in the spring to avoid the summer heat.

However, some voiced concerns that a spring Olympics will overlap with Japan's professional baseball season.

One federation official said that holding the Olympic Games in September and October will be impossible as the schedule will coincide with the U.S. professional sports season.

IOC President Thomas Bach suggested that the committee will make a final decision on the new schedule in three to four weeks. The IOC earlier this week decided to postpone the Tokyo Olympics, originally slated this summer, by about a year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bach also said that athletes who have already qualified for the Tokyo Games will keep their rights to participate in the postponed games.

According to the IOC, 57 pct of the qualification slots for athletes in the sporting event have already been filled, despite strings of cancellations and postponements of Olympic trials due to the coronavirus pandemic.

JIJI Press