News Asia
China Will Host Asian Games In 2023 After COVID Postponement
(CTN News) – Covid forced the organizers to postpone the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, so they will be held in 2023.
Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced the Asian Games will now take place in Hangzhou, China, between September 23 and October 8 2023.
Originally scheduled for September this year, the event was postponed in May as China attempted to stamp out a large Covid resurgence.
As part of the ruling Communist Party’s zero-tolerance approach to the virus, Shanghai, the country’s largest city, was placed under a months-long lockdown earlier this year.
According to the OCA, the new dates were chosen so as to avoid conflict with other major international sporting events.
Over 10,000 athletes from across the region typically participate in the Asian Games.
As the last major economy to crack down on the domestic spread of the virus, Shangai has implemented harsh lockdowns, mass testing, and strict international travel restrictions.
Since the start of the pandemic, almost every event in the world’s most populous nation has been canceled or postponed, with the exception of this year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
World University Games in Chengdu, originally scheduled for June and already postponed last year, have been postponed again until 2023.
Related CTN News: