Osaka, July 16 (IANS) A Ugandan weightlifter, who was training in western Japan ahead of the start of the Tokyo Olympics next Friday, has gone missing.

Yahoo Japan reported on Friday that the authorities are looking for 20-year-old Julius Ssekitoleko of the Ugandan delegation who has been in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, for a pre-Olympic training camp. Apparently, he failed to show up for a daily PCR test around noon and was not found in his hotel room.

"One member of the Ugandan delegation, which the city received as a host town, has gone missing and cannot be reached. The city is making all efforts to search for the individual. We have reported the matter to police," said the city of Izumisano in a statement.

The statement added that Ssekitoleko was last seen shortly after midnight inside the hotel by a fellow athlete. According to Daily Monitor, a newspaper in Uganda, Ssekitoleko was informed on Wednesday that he had missed out on a place in the men's 67kg competition after being on the waiting list.

Uganda's delegation was among the first teams to arrive in Japan for the Tokyo Olympics, which will open July 23 following a one-year delay.

An athlete had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus after arriving at Narita airport outside Tokyo on June 19. A few days later, another member was found to have the virus when the team reached its base city. The team started training last week.

--IANS

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