Olympic beach volleyball opener canceled due to positive COVID-19 test
TOKYO -- The Olympic beach volleyball tournament got off to the quintessential COVID-era start.
The event's very first scheduled match at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games was canceled on Saturday morning because a Czech player tested positive for the coronavirus. That knocked Markéta Sluková, who tested positive earlier this week, and partner Barbora Hermannová out of the tournament.
Already empty because of the ban on fans, the venue at Shiokaze Park was eerily still when the match was supposed to start at 9 a.m. local time on Saturday, the only sound coming from the incredibly loud cicadas in the nearby trees.