TEHRAN - The Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games have been postponed, the organizers said on Friday.

No reason was given for the delay, but China is racing to extinguish its largest outbreak of Covid-19 since the early days of the pandemic.

“The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that the 19th Asian Games, originally scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China from Sept.10 to 25, 2022, will be postponed,” said a statement on the official Games website.

The new dates for the sporting contest “will be announced at a later date”, the statement added.

The postponement was confirmed after a meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Executive Board and followed detailed discussions with the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) and the Hangzhou 2022 Organizing Committee (HAGOC). 

The Asian Youth Games, due to be held in the Chinese city of Shantou from Dec. 20 to 28 this year, have also been cancelled, the OCA has announced.

China is currently battling against a rise in COVID-19 cases with the ongoing situation cited as the chief reason for the decision to postpone Hangzhou 2022.

“HAGOC has been very well prepared to deliver the Games on time despite global challenges,” a statement from the OCA read. 

“However, the above decision was taken by all the stakeholders after carefully considering the pandemic situation and the size of the Games.”