Beijing - The 19th Asian Games is postponed indefinitely, organisers said Friday, as China battles a resurgence of Covid cases. The postponement comes less than three months after Beijing hosted the Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

"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," said a statement on the official Games website, first posted on Chinese state media.

The new dates for the sporting contest "will be announced at a later date", the statement added.

Hangzhou lies near the country's biggest city, Shanghai, which is under weeks-long lockdown as part of the ruling Communist Party's zero-tolerance approach to the virus.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) statement said local organizers were “very well prepared to deliver the games on time despite the global challenges. However, the decision was taken by all the stakeholders after carefully considering the pandemic situation and the size of the games.”

The Asian Games were scheduled to take place Sept. 10-25 in the eastern city of Hangzhou. More than 11,000 athletes, much more than the typical Summer Olympics, were reoprted to take part in the event. The last edition was held in 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The World University Games, another major multi-sport event, could also be postponed. They were scheduled for last year but were postponed until 2022. They were to take place this year on June 26-July 7 in the western city of Chengdu. About 6,000 athletes were believed to be involved.

Both events were expected to take place using the “closed-loop” system that was in place for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics.
-AP/AFP