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China to host Asian games in 2023 after covid postponement

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China will host the 2022 Asian Games in the autumn of 2023, organizers said on Tuesday, after postponing the event in Hangzhou because of Covid-19.

The Games were originally scheduled for September this year, but organizers postponed them in May as China tried to stamp out a large Covid resurgence in several parts of the country.

The event will now be held in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8 2023, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said.

The OCA said on Tuesday that the new dates were chosen to avoid “conflict with other major international sporting events”.

China is the last major economy committed to stamping out the domestic spread of the virus through harsh lockdowns, mass testing, and strict controls on international travel.

But that has hurt the country’s international sporting ambitions, with the world’s most populous nation canceling or postponing almost all events since the start of the pandemic, except this year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The World University Games, scheduled to begin in June in Chengdu and already delayed from last year, have also been postponed again, until 2023.

The Asian Games typically attract over 10,000 athletes from across the region.

Hangzhou will be the third city in China to host the continental competition after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.

Some events are also expected to be held in other provincial cities including Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing, and Jinhua.

Almost all international sport has ground to a halt in China since Covid emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

The Chinese government has touted the zero-Covid strategy as proof that it values human life above material concerns and can avert the public health crises seen in many Western countries.

Covid restrictions around the country eased slightly this summer as case numbers from the earlier Omicron-driven outbreak dwindled.

But a rising wave of fresh infections this month has led to new restrictions in parts of the country, with millions of people receiving orders to stay home over the weekend.

Editor at Ghanafuo.com! Cecelia Chintoh is the name I respond to. I am self-motivated and an editor at Ghanafuo.com. I have found interest in writing articles like entertainment news, sports, Wikipedia, biography, obituary, News, lifestyle and many more around the world. Follow me on Facebook and LinkedIn @Cecelia Chintoh.

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