A Japanese architect who won a competition to design the centrepiece stadium for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo said yesterday engineers are now looking into whether construction can be completed in time to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup final.

The new National Stadium was supposed to stage the opening ceremony and final of the rugby tournament, but the scrapping of the original design last year meant the venue was switched to Yokohama Stadium, which hosted the 2002 soccer World Cup final.

Asked if he received a request that the construction period be reduced so it could host at least the final game of the Rugby World Cup, Kengo Kuma said; “Yes, but only informally. Specialists are taking a look at it for a responsible answer.”

UK-based Zaha Hadid Architects was initially chosen to build the stadium, but the much-criticised futuristic design was dropped last year amid public anger over cost overruns in just one of a series of embarrassments for Tokyo Olympics planners.

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