Asian Youth Games postponed till 2022 due to coronavirus

• Games were due to be held in Shantou city in China's southern Guangdong province in November.
• Move is to "ensure the safety and health of athletes and all participants", says a government official.
• The decision came after in-depth discussions among the Olympic Council of Asia.

BEIJING: The Asian Youth Games, organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), have been postponed to December 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, local authorities said on Wednesday.

The Games were due to be held in Shantou city in China's southern Guangdong province in November.

The move is to "ensure the safety and health of athletes and all participants", a Shantou government department in charge of sports affairs said on Chinese social media, citing an announcement from OCA.

The statement did not offer details on the reasons behind the delay but said the decision came after in-depth discussions among the Olympic Council of Asia, the Chinese Olympic Committee and a local committee responsible for organising the Games.

Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng said on Friday that officials should make sure the Winter Olympics to be held in China in February next year will happen on time, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The pandemic is a significant challenge to hosting the event, and virus control strategies should be targeted and scientific, Han said.

The Chinese leg of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating, originally scheduled from November 4-7 in the southwestern city of Chongqing, has been cancelled due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Skating Union (ISU) said last month.