The Hong Kong Cycling Association had nominated 30 athletes to send to the Games, including Lee, who at 34 was preparing for what could be her last event of such magnitude.

“China is still trying to cope with the pandemic, so it is understandable that they would prefer to postpone the Games,” the association’s chairman Leung Hung-tak said.

“We don’t know how it would affect the athletes until we know how long the Games will be delayed. If it’s too long, like one year, some of the older riders may not be able to stay on for that long.”

Hong Kong cyclists won three gold medals on the track at the 2018 Jakarta Games – two for Lee, in the sprint and keirin, and one for Leung Chun-wing and Cheung King-lok in the men’s madison.

Zheng Kangzhao, Hong Kong’s fencing head coach, said plans for the year had been turned upside down, but he hoped Olympic gold medallist Cheung Ka-long would still be a strong prospect to triumph in 2023.

“It has an impact because since the Tokyo Olympics last year, all of our training programmes have been in preparation for the Asian Games, which is the most important competition this year,” Zheng said.

“We have to accept the postponement. It depends how long it is postponed, whether it is three months, six months or a year.

“I don’t think it will have a big impact on Cheung Ka-long’s ability to win the gold medal – his ability will not disappear, and may get closer to perfect.”

Chan Kong-wah, the table tennis head coach, had mixed feelings about the decision and could see some positives.

“The pandemic has thrown preparations for the Games into disarray – many tournaments were cancelled over the past two years, especially in Asia, where almost no events had been held.

“Many of the players have suffered a drop in world ranking and are currently travelling to Europe for tournaments, hoping to improve rankings. The delay will give them more time to prepare and take part in a normal Asian Games.”

A statement on the official website of the Games said the Asiad would be delayed to a time to be “announced at a later date”, following an executive board meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia in Uzbekistan on Friday.

The president of the Hong Kong Olympic Committee, Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, attended the meeting via video link and said Games organisers would set up a working group to determine a suitable new date.

He said some member nations were concerned that it would be difficult to arrange travel to China, given the controls on flights and border regulations, and it was preferable to wait for an Asian Games without the shadow of Covid-19.

The Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong said it “believes that the decision was correctly made”, and “respects and supports” the move.

Hong Kong Rugby Union chief executive Robbie McRobbie was able to empathise with Games organisers, with Covid-19 having forced the cancellation of the city’s Sevens tournament in 2020 and 2021.

“The HKRU is no stranger to the disappointment of postponing sporting events out of concerns over Covid-19,” he said. “We sympathise with all of the organisers and athletes at this time, but are confident in the successful staging of the Asiad at a later time.

“While our elite sevens athletes will be disappointed in this news, especially our defending gold medallist men’s squad, the teams are busy preparing for a heavy international sevens calendar with competitions overseas in June and August, and the Rugby World Cup Sevens in September. There is still much to play for in 2022.”

Second in size only to the Summer Olympics, the Games are expected to involve more than 11,000 athletes from 44 nations and territories.

In a further blow for Hong Kong athletes, the World University Games, also to be hosted by China, in Chengdu, have been postponed for a second time, from June and July until next year.