Daily Times

SYDNEY: Australia’s softball squad left Sydney for a pre-Olympic training camp in Japan on Monday, prepared for a very different Games experience but as determined as their predecessors to return home with a medal. The squad will be among the first foreign athletes to arrive in Japan for the July 23-Aug. 8 Tokyo Games, which were postponed for a year and are still being overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Outfielder Jade Wall said that had not lessened the excitement for a squad which has been unable to play a competitive game since February 2020 because of the global health crisis. “We just can’t wait to get there,” the 32-year-old told reporters at Sydney airport. “We know it’s going to be a long trek over there, we know we’ve got to go through lots and lots of COVID testing but we’re all prepared for it. “We know we’ve got one goal in mind. I know that any difficulties we face, we’ll face them together.” Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman said Australia would send a team to Japan that was “to all intents and purposes fully vaccinated” and that he was comfortable with the levels of health protocols in place to protect athletes and locals.