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Olympic Torch lit but world tour suspended

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The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch relay got underway on Thursday of last week.

As in previous years, the flame was lit by the rays of the sun in ancient Olympia.

Actress Xanthi Georgiou, playing the role of high priestess, used a parabolic mirror at the site of the ancient Greek Olympics to ignite the torch, before handing it to Greek Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki, the first woman to ever launch an Olympic relay.

Korakaki subsequently lit the torch of Japanese runner Mizuki Noguchi, the 2004 Olympic marathon champion.

The torch will be handed over to Tokyo Games organizers in Athens on March 19 after a seven-day relay in Greece. However, this year the torch will complete a scaled-down relay around the world.

Tokyo Games organizers as well as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have insisted the Games will go ahead as planned on July 24- Aug. 9.

However, there is speculation that they could be cancelled or postponed as coronavirus spreads rapidly across the globe.

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