Olympic Newsdesk -- Japan Sets Medal Target; No Time Off for Sochi Workers

Japan Sets Tokyo 2020 medal target

The Japanese Olympic Committee is targeting third in the gold medal table at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The JOC’s athletes’ development committee outlined the goals at a Thursday meeting, its first since Tokyo secured the Olympics in September.

Officials estimated that Japan would need to win 20 to 33 gold medals to achieve third spot in the gold medal table.

The JOC also set the goal of achieving eighth place in the overall medal table.

Putin Tells Workers: You Can’t Stop

Russian president Vladimir Putin says Sochi 2014 organizers can’t take time off for Christmas.

Putin made the comments on Thursday during a tour of Sochi’s Olympic sites. Russian tradition is for a week of celebration from New Year’s to the Orthodox Christmas.

"It is not only evident to us, but to all observers too, that tremendous, high-quality work has been done," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

"The New Year holidays are approaching, New Year's and Christmas. I want to tell you, and I think it's clear. For you, the New Year will come after the Paralympic Games end on March 17. For you,New Year will be on March 18."

Turkmenistan Eyes Asian Games

Turkmenistan could bid for the 2023 Asian Games.

With preparations for the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat progressing well, secretary general of the Turkmenistan NOC Azat Muradov said that the country’s president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, would soon make a decision.

The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017 is the country’s first major international sporting event.

Muradov made the announcement at the inaugural Turkmenistan International Sports Media Forum 2013 in the country’s capital.

Forty of the world’s sports media from 23 different countries attended the two-day forum.

The forum came to a close Friday with a tour of Ashgabat’s Olympic Complex, which will host the 2017 event that is taking place over 11 days. Around 5,000 athletes from 62 different countries will compete at the complex’s new, state-of-the-art venues.

"This development will serve for much longer than these Games – we hope to host many future international sporting events here," said chairman of the State Committee of Turkmenistan for Sport, Batyr Orazov.

Fencing Trims Rio Events

The international fencing federation cut a pair of events from its Olympic program on Friday.

Men’s team sabre and women’s team foil will not be contested at Rio 2016, according to an announcement made at the Centennial FIE Congress in Paris.

IOC Athletes Commission chair Claudia Bokel, on her Twitter page, called the news "sad" and seemed puzzled by the cut. The FIE "needs 12 events and medals," she said, which is an increase from the 10 staged in 2012.

Another of her tweets suggested world championships be staged in Rio for the two dropped events.

Bokel, a German, competed in three Summer Games as a fencer.