Asian Games Postponed Until Further Announcement Amid COVID Surge In China: Report

The games which was to be held in September in Hangzhou has been cancelled looking at the Covid-19 situation.

Asian Games 2022 postponed

Source : AFP

New Delhi: The 2022 Asian Games scheduled to be held in China has been postponed, reported news agency AFP, citing Chinese media. The games which was to be held in September in Hangzhou has been cancelled looking at the Covid-19 situation in the country. China  is already reeling under tough Covid situation as cases have been on the rise. 

#UPDATE The Asian Games due to take place in Hangzhou in September have been postponed until an unspecified date, Chinese state media report, citing the Olympic Council of Asia.

No reason was given for the delay but the announcement comes as China battles a resurgence of Covid pic.twitter.com/spg7Q8FpMJ

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 6, 2022

Though the exact reason for postponing the games indefinitely is not known, Chinese media have been attributing it to the Covid-19 surge, said AFP

"The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that the 19th Asian Games, originally scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10 to 25, 2022, will be postponed," read the official statement of the Games website, reported AFP, Citing Chinese state media.

The statement also said that a new date for the games will be announced at a later date.

Hangzhou in eastern Chine, where the Asian Games were to be held had to a large extent had finished preparations for the games. According to AFP, the city had  finished constructing some 56 competition venues. 

Hangzhou also lies near country's commercial capital and the biggest city, Shanghai, where Covid-19 cases had forced people to remain indoors for a long time.