Having come to Japan to train in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Mongolian national marathon team is still stranded with no way back to their home country. The group of eight athletes and coaches arrived in Izumisano, Osaka on Feb. 9 for a training camp. Scheduled to return to Mongolia on Mar. 17, the group was caught off-guard when flights between Japan and Mongolia were suspended due to the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. After more than two months in Japan and nearly a month after their planned return date, a month that saw the Olympics postponed another year, there are still no prospects of them going home. All they can do is keep training with the support of local residents. Located in the southwestern part of Osaka, Izumisano's greatest landmark is Kansai International Airport. The number of planes taking off has been increasing, even as days are lost one by one to the state of emergency declared last week. But against that background, Mongolia's b...
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