Asian Games 2022 was postponed due to COVID restrictions in China. However, it would now be held next year between September 23-October 8.
The 2022 Asian Games was one of the important competitive multi-sport events the Asian athletes were looking forward to. However, it was postponed a few months back due to China’s prevailing challenging COVID-19 situation. Nonetheless, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has come up with new dates for the competition, which will now be held next year in Hangzhou and is slated to run from September 23 to October 8. The tournament will act as a qualifying platform for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which would take place in less than ten months following the conclusion of the AG.
In its statement, the OCA said, “The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is pleased to announce the new dates for the 19th Asian Games, which will now be held in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8, 2023. The 19th Asian Games was originally planned to be held in Hangzhou from the 10th to the 25th of September 2022. However, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Games were postponed by the OCA Executive Board (EB) on May 6 2022, and a “Task Force” was created by the EB to finalise the new dates for the Games.”
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“The Task Force, over the last two months, held various discussions with the Chinese Olympic Committee, Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC) and other stakeholders to find a window for the Games which did not conflict with other major international sporting events. The recommended dates by the Task Force were duly approved by the OCA EB,” added OCA.
“The OCA thanks HAGOC, the Chinese Olympic Committee, and the Governments at all levels for their hard work in preparing for the Games during the pandemic and ensuring they can take place next year. The OCA would also like to express its appreciation for the patience of the National Olympic Committees, International Federation/Asian Federations, and other stakeholders. The OCA looks forward to celebrating the best Asian Games ever in Hangzhou in September 2023,” OCA concluded.