2022 Asian Games Postponed To Next Year

JAKARTA - The 2022 Asian Games, which were scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 10-35, have been postponed to 2023.

The postponement of the 2022 Asian Games is due to the current condition of China, which is struggling again to face the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. This assurance was revealed by the Acting President of the Asian Olympic Committee (OCA), Randhir Singh.

“OCA has announced that the 19th Asian Games, originally scheduled in Hangzhou, China, on September 10-25, 2022, will be postponed. The new schedule will be announced at a later date", said an official statement from the 2022 Asian Games committee quoted by Reuters, Friday, May 6.

Although the statement did not specify the reason why the 2022 Asian Games were postponed, it is believed that the delay was due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. Hangzhou, which is the venue for the Asian Games, is the capital city of Zhejiang province, which is only 175 kilometers from Shanghai.

Meanwhile, Shanghai itself is currently experiencing a significant increase in COVID-19 cases and has implemented a lockdown in the past week.

Until now there has been no further statement regarding the exact schedule of the 2022 Asian Games to be held. However, seeing the 2022 World Cup which will be held in Qatar starting next November, it is difficult for the 2022 Asian Games to be postponed to the end of the year until the most appropriate option appears is to postpone it to 2023.

Previously, in early April 2022, the local committee of the 2022 Asian Games ensured that Hangzhou was ready to hold the largest multi-sport event in Asia. A total of 56 match venues have been completed and renovated to welcome more than 11,000 athletes from 44 countries.