The Asian Games, a major sporting competition to be held in September in China, has been postponed to an uncertain date, China’s public television announced on Friday amid an epidemic outbreak.
China is experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases affecting several provinces to varying degrees.
The competitions will be held in Hangzhou (east), less than 200 km southwest of Shanghai, the city so far the most affected by the recent outbreak of the epidemic and where the population has been confined since the beginning of April.
The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that the 19th Asian Games, which were originally scheduled to be held […] from September 10 to 25, 2022, has been postponedsaid CCTV on Chinese social network Weibo. New dates will be announced at a later datesaid the television.
In a statement, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) justified the decision the state of health in China.
Organizers plan to implement a coronavirus prevention plan based on the last Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, in February in Beijing, which has been a success in terms of health.
The recent rise in cases has not yet begun. However, Chinese authorities are concerned to prevent any contamination and have applied a zero COVID approach since 2020.
It consists of several measures: detention once certain cases have arisen, isolation of sick people from the rest of the population, quarantine on arrival in the territory or even monitoring movements.
Hangzhou has 12 million inhabitants. It became China’s third city to host the Asian Games, after Beijing in 1990 and Canton in 2010. Some events have to be arranged in other cities in the same province, of which several dozen cases have been identified. previous day.
The COA also announced the explicit cancellation of the Asian Youth Games. Postponed for the first time, they will take place in December in China’s Shantou city (south).
There is also no Diamond League
The two athletics competitions scheduled for China this summer will not take place, organizers said, due to ongoing travel restrictions in the country.
Shanghai (July 30) and Shenzhen (August 6) are set to host two major circuit events following the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July.
ang Kamila Skolimowska Memoriala competition held in Chorzow in Poland, so moved from Continental Tour gold (2nd world division) to Diamond League and will take place on August 6 rather than September as originally planned.
While Chinese conglomerate Wanda became the main sponsor of the circuit at the end of 2019, no international athletics competition took place there due to COVID-19, after the cancellation of events in 2020 and 2021.
Source: Radio-Canada
