Sport / Asian Games
The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium was going to be the main stadium for the 19th Asian Games. Photo: AFP
The 2022 Asian Games scheduled to be held in the mainland Chinese city of Hangzhou have been postponed until next year, the Olympic Council of Asia said on Friday.
Chinese state media first reported the news about the 19th edition of the multi-sports event, which is second in size only to the Summer Olympics, quoting a statement from the official Games website.
“The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced that the 19th Asian Games, originally scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25, 2022, will be postponed,” the statement said.
New dates for the sporting contest “will be announced at a later date”, the statement added. The decision to postpone the Games was taken at a OCA executive board meeting in Tashkent on Friday.
The OCA said in the statement that the decision to postpone “was taken by all the stakeholders after carefully considering the pandemic situation and the size of the Games”.
The OCA also said that the Asian Youth Games, scheduled to be held in December in the Chinese city of Shantou, would be cancelled having already been postponed once.
Hangzhou organisers said in early April that all 56 competition venues for the Games had been completed and test events were continuing as the lakeside city prepared to host more than 11,000 athletes from 44 nations and territories.
The news came a day after the Post exclusively revealed that the World University Games was being postponed until next year.
China has been struggling with a new wave of Covid-19 driven by the Omicron variant.
In late March, financial hub Shanghai entered a sudden lockdown with its 25 million residents being ordered to stay home. Restrictions remain in force across large parts of the city.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Sports Institute said they were still waiting for an official announcement from the Olympic Council.
Developing | Hangzhou Asian Games: this year’s event postponed, Chinese state media reports
- Hangzhou was expected to host the Games in September, but China Central Television quotes official who confirms date will change
- Several other events in China had already been delayed as the country battles its latest Covid-19 outbreak
The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium was going to be the main stadium for the 19th Asian Games. Photo: AFP
The 2022 Asian Games scheduled to be held in the mainland Chinese city of Hangzhou have been postponed until next year, the Olympic Council of Asia said on Friday.
Chinese state media first reported the news about the 19th edition of the multi-sports event, which is second in size only to the Summer Olympics, quoting a statement from the official Games website.
“The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced that the 19th Asian Games, originally scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25, 2022, will be postponed,” the statement said.
New dates for the sporting contest “will be announced at a later date”, the statement added. The decision to postpone the Games was taken at a OCA executive board meeting in Tashkent on Friday.
The OCA said in the statement that the decision to postpone “was taken by all the stakeholders after carefully considering the pandemic situation and the size of the Games”.The OCA also said that the Asian Youth Games, scheduled to be held in December in the Chinese city of Shantou, would be cancelled having already been postponed once.
Hangzhou organisers said in early April that all 56 competition venues for the Games had been completed and test events were continuing as the lakeside city prepared to host more than 11,000 athletes from 44 nations and territories.
The news came a day after the Post exclusively revealed that the World University Games was being postponed until next year.
China has been struggling with a new wave of Covid-19 driven by the Omicron variant.
In late March, financial hub Shanghai entered a sudden lockdown with its 25 million residents being ordered to stay home. Restrictions remain in force across large parts of the city.
A spokesman for the Hong Kong Sports Institute said they were still waiting for an official announcement from the Olympic Council.
