Sources have claimed that tennis star Naomi Osaka was not the first choice to light the Olympic flame at Tokyo 2020 this year.According to the Express, former Olympic Committee chair, Yoshiro Mori actually wanted baseball legend Hideki Matsui –– nicknamed ‘Godzilla’, to light the cauldron.The ex Yankees player is a nine-time All-Star, three-time Central League Most Valuable Player and hit 175 home runs in Major League Baseball over the course of his career.However, Mori was forced to resign back in February, after making some derogatory remarks against women. The 84-year-old stated that women spoke too much to serve on the Japanese Olympic Committee.According to the New York Times, Mori is quoted as saying: “If we increase the number of female board members, we have to make sure their speaking time is restricted somewhat, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying.”

Though the former chairman later apologised and called his comments “absolutely inappropriate,” he stood down from his position –– telling the media: “Just when we were preparing to definitely hold the Games, I, as president, said something I shouldn’t have said.

Hideki Matsui

“I didn’t mean it in that way, although it was said to be discrimination against women. I have been praising women, promoting them to speak out more.”

It was only after Mori stepped down that the committee approached four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka. A former world number one, she is half Japanese and half Haitian, having lived in America for most of her life.

The 23-year-old was hotly tipped to win a medal at these Games, even after taking time away from tennis for mental health reasons but suffered a third-round defeat to Czech player Markéta Vondroušová.