Mumbai: Olympic Council of Asia ,OCA) has requested an update from Beijing COVID-19 Situation in China but remains reassuring asian games I will move on hangzhou in September, a senior body official told Reuters on Monday.
The 19th edition of the multi-sport games, second only to the Summer Olympics in size, is scheduled to take place from September 10-25 in the capital of Zhejiang province, about 175 kilometers southwest of Shanghai.
A media report last week quoted the Director General of the OCA as saying that the Games were likely to be postponed due to the month-long COVID-19 lockdown in China’s financial capital.
A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the OCA was in touch with Chinese officials but had no concerns “as of now” about cancellation or postponement.
“OCA has written to Beijing to get more clarity on the situation and we are waiting for a report,” he said. “The matter will be taken up for discussion at the meeting of the OCA Executive Board in Tashkent on 6 May.”
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the local organizing committee in Hangzhou.
Most international sporting events in China have been postponed or canceled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the notable exception of the Winter Olympics in Beijing that went ahead under strict health controls in February.
The OCA official said the body took confidence from the fact that the Winter Games had been successfully completed and expected similar biosecurity controls for the Asian Games.
Hangzhou organizers said in early April that all 56 competition sites for the Games had been completed and testing programs were on as the lakeside city prepared to host more than 11,000 athletes from 44 countries and territories. .
The Tokyo Summer Olympics was postponed by a year until 2021 due to the effects of the early stages of the global health crisis.
The 19th edition of the multi-sport games, second only to the Summer Olympics in size, is scheduled to take place from September 10-25 in the capital of Zhejiang province, about 175 kilometers southwest of Shanghai.
A media report last week quoted the Director General of the OCA as saying that the Games were likely to be postponed due to the month-long COVID-19 lockdown in China’s financial capital.
A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday that the OCA was in touch with Chinese officials but had no concerns “as of now” about cancellation or postponement.
“OCA has written to Beijing to get more clarity on the situation and we are waiting for a report,” he said. “The matter will be taken up for discussion at the meeting of the OCA Executive Board in Tashkent on 6 May.”
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the local organizing committee in Hangzhou.
Most international sporting events in China have been postponed or canceled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the notable exception of the Winter Olympics in Beijing that went ahead under strict health controls in February.
The OCA official said the body took confidence from the fact that the Winter Games had been successfully completed and expected similar biosecurity controls for the Asian Games.
Hangzhou organizers said in early April that all 56 competition sites for the Games had been completed and testing programs were on as the lakeside city prepared to host more than 11,000 athletes from 44 countries and territories. .
The Tokyo Summer Olympics was postponed by a year until 2021 due to the effects of the early stages of the global health crisis.