TEAM Lesotho Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan, Letsatsi Ntsibolane has cleared the misunderstanding surrounding the issue of a Japanese national who was seen hoisting the Lesotho national flag during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on Friday.
sports
July 26, 2021
STAFF REPORTER
2 min read
Ntsibolane clears confusion about flag at Olympics
TEAM Lesotho Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Olympic Games in Japan, Letsatsi Ntsibolane
He said the Japanese man had to raise the Lesotho flag as there were no Basotho athletes present during the opening ceremony.
Ntsibolane said this was due to the fact that Lesotho is going to be represented by two marathoners, Seutloali Khoarahlana and his wife, ’Neheng Khatala Khoarahlane who will only leave the country on Tuesday as they will be competing at a later stage.
He said the athletes’ coaches had suggested that they leave for Japan on Tuesday since weather conditions are extremely hot in that Asian country.
“Arriving early will affect them negatively even though the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had no problem if they stayed till their events take off on August 7 and 8,'' he said.
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Ntsibolane said the IOC instructed them to give the Lesotho flag to any volunteer who just happened to be the Japanese athlete.
A section of the nation was not happy to see the Japanese athlete carrying the national flag and had raised concern about it on local radio stations and various social media platforms. LeNA
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