KUALA LUMPUR – The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) will wait for further details on the postponement of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games before drawing up new strategies.
OCM president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria said the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (Hagoc) had yet to furnish further details on the postponement, including the new dates.
“We have received verbal notifications from them. We are closely in touch with them (OCA and Hagoc). We are still waiting for a black and white before announcing the next course of action,” he said when contacted, today.
Earlier today, the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), Hagoc and the OCA Executive Board decided to postpone the 19th Asiad, scheduled from September 10-25, after detailed discussions.
OCA said the new dates will be announced in near future, while the name and the emblem of the 19th Asian Games will remain unchanged.
“Hagoc has been very well prepared to deliver the Games on time despite global challenges. However, the above decision was taken by all the stakeholders after carefully considering the pandemic situation and the size of the Games,” OCA said in a statement, without citing the specific reason for the postponement.
The lakeside Hangzhou city is only about a two-hour drive from China’s financial capital, Shanghai, which is reported to have been struggling with a recent Covid-19 resurgence and its related strict lockdowns.
OCA also announced the cancellation of the Asian Youth Games Shantou 2021, scheduled from December 20-28, which previously had been postponed for a year.
The next edition will be held in 2025 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s chef-de-mission to Hangzhou 2022, Datuk Chong Kim Fatt said he will discuss the matter with the OCM soon to strategise new plans for the Asiad.
“We have to accept the situation. For now, we are focusing on the SEA Games (in Hanoi from May 12-23). I believe OCM will make the announcement soon,” he said.
A total of 482 events from 40 types of sports had been listed for the Games. – Bernama, May 6, 2022
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