Will follow IOC's decision over 2020 Tokyo Olympics: IOA President

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will "follow strictly" whatever decision the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is going to take regarding the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, association's President Narinder Batra said on Monday.

"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. I am a member of IOC and I do not follow what Canada and Australia is saying, that's their issue. IOC is a responsible organisation, we know that," Batra told ANI.

Batra's statement comes 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 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.

Also, the Australia Olympic Committee has told the country's athletes to prepare for the Olympics in the northern hemisphere's 2021 summer. "Australian athletes should prepare for a Tokyo Olympic Games in the northern summer of 2021," the AOC said in a statement.

Earlier, IOC said they will make a decision in four weeks time period as the countries around the world are reeling with the coronavirus pandemic. However, the body emphasised that 'cancellation is not on the agenda'.

More than 335,000 people have contracted novel COVID-19 and at least 14,641 have died so far, according to Johns Hopkins University.