As the pressure mounts on the IOC to postpone the Olympics due to coronavirus pandemic, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra who is also the President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said that that he will follow whatever the IOC eventually decides to do about the global event.

Dr. Batra also confirmed that he is in regular touch with the sports ministry and all stakeholders regarding the Tokyo Olympics.

“We will follow what IOC is saying and we will go by IOC’s stand. Whatever will be IOC’s decision, we will follow strictly. We are also in touch with the government, we are talking to everyone and our stand is what IOC’s stand is.” Dr. Batra said.

“I am a member of IOC and I do not follow what Canada and Australia are saying, that’s their issue. IOC is a responsible organisation. We know that,” Batra told a news agency.

Batra’s statement came after the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) announced that they will not send their teams to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020 due to the coronavirus threat.

The Tokyo Olympic Games are scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9, while the Paralympic Games are scheduled to be held from August 25 to September 6.

Earlier, the IOC said they will make a decision in four weeks as the countries around the world are reeling with the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the body emphasised that ‘cancellation is not on the agenda’.