Australia says it will not send athletes to Asian Games
- Australia has decided against sending its athletes to Hangzhou amid the Covid-19 outbreak in the host nation
- The city of 12 million will become the third in China to host the continental competition after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010
Australia said Sunday it will not be sending athletes to this year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The Olympic-sized event is expected to be held in Hangzhou from September 10 to 25, less than 200 kilometres southwest of Shanghai, which is battling a large Covid-19 outbreak.
The Olympic Council of Asia had invited a total of 300 athletes and 150 support staff from nations in Oceania to participate for the first time in the multisports event.
“No athletes from Australian sports” will take part, an Australian Olympic Committee spokesman said in a message to AFP.
Organisers of the Hangzhou games say they are developing a virus control plan, building on the Beijing Winter Olympics held in February. But they have provided few details of how they intend to hold the games if China’s strict zero-Covid policy remains unchanged.