Beijing's bloody repression of anti-Chinese protests in Tibet has cast a cloud over this summer's Olympic Games, but as yet there is no discernible movement in the world of sports in favour of a boycott.
On the contrary, several athletes and sports officials have said that the best way to encourage China to improve its human rights record would be to take the Games to Beijing and turn the spotlight firmly on China.
"There is no doubt about it that the Olympics has the potential to vastly improve the human rights situation in China," said the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee Alejandro Blanco.
His comments were matched by the head of the French Judo Federation Jean-Luc Rouge who said that staging the Olympics in August would be more of threat to the Chinese authorities than if they were hit by a boycott. "Without the Olympics ahead, the world would not be so concerned over what is going on in Tibet", he said referring to last week's violent crackdown of anti-Chinese rallies in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.
Murmering of discontents from some athletes were heard in Germany, but Thomas Bach, the powerful vice-president of the International Olympic Committee said that while he had some sympathy for them, supporting a boycott would be a mistake.
"Several sports stars are feeling ill at ease when they think about the Olympic Games. Some are even considering cancelling," Bach, of Germany, told Sunday's edition of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
"They will realise when they assess the situation that it is better to make an appearance than to stay away. That is a symbol that will be noticed by the public," he said.
"We are of the opinion that the Games will help China open up. But we cannot solve the problems that UN secretaries general have not been able to solve for generations."
Others have voiced the opinion that it would be unfair to ask individual sportsmen and women to decide on what action should be taken to put pressure on Beijing over Tibet, Darfur or domestic human rights at a time when diplomatic and commercial ties are unaffected.
"If it was Roger Federer that was boycotting, maybe that would have an impact, but if it was me no-one would notice," Swiss triathlete Magali Di Marco-Messmer told Le Matin Dimanche in Geneva.
"There is no valid reason why athletes should be made to suffer in making a choice over something in which they were not consulted in the first place," she added.
That was a clear reference to the IOC which is solely responsible for deciding who stages the Olympics and who selected Beijing in 2001 in the face of strong opposition at the time from human rights groups.
The Swiss-based organisation has had little to say on the matter since the protests wracked Tibet and there are those such as Dutch swim star Pieter van den Hoogenband who would like to hear from IOC chief Jacques Rogge.
"I'm calling on him (Rogge) to take responsibility as the highest leader in international sport and to speak out publically before the whole world, in the name of athletes all over the world, in favour of the improvement of the human rights situation in China," the Dutch swimmer said.
"As the head of the Olympic family Mr Rogge is the right person to give a voice to athletes worldwide. The Belgian, who competed in three Olympics as a yachtsman, did have some words of reflection last Friday on a visit to Puerto Rico saying that the IOC was keenly aware of the need to respect human rights.
But he insisted that they were essentially a sports body not an activist group and that their prime responsibility was to organise the best of possible Olympic Games. Since then he has made no further comment.
Those who disagree with the notion of an Olympics boycott will also have been encouraged by comments from Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in favour of them going ahead.
"The Chinese people... need to feel proud of it. China deserves to be a host of the Olympic Games," he said, adding that Beijing needed to be "reminded to be a good host of the Olympic Games."
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