The Asian Games, originally slated to take place in September in Hangzhou, China, have been postponed until 2023 because of the current COVID-19 scenario, as announced by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Executive Board on May 6, 2022.
According to the tweet of the official Games Twitter account, the OCA Executive Board "has decided to postpone the 19th Asian Games," which was scheduled to be held in Hangzhou from September 10 to 25, 2022.
Zhejiang province has made solid progress in its preparations for the 19th Asian Games, with the assistance and guidance of the OCA and the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), "despite the challenges brought about by COVID-19."
After Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010, Hangzhou was slated to be the third Chinese city to host the continental competition.
Other provincial cities, including Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing, and Jinhua, were scheduled to host events.
Since COVID formed in late 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, almost all international sport has been suspended in China.
The new dates for the continental multi-sport event "will be announced after further discussions between the OCA, the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), and HAGOC."
At the 19th Asian Games, esports will be recognized as an official medal sport. The Asiad esports competition will feature eight medal events and two demonstration games.
The eight esports medal events are as follows:
- PUBG Mobile - Asian Games Version
- Arena of Valor - Asian Games Version
- Dota 2
- Dream Three Kingdoms 2
- EA Sports FIFA branded soccer games
- Hearthstone
- League of Legends
- Street Fighter V
AESF Robot Masters-Powered and AESF VR Sports, both powered by Migu, will be contested as demo sports in addition to the eight medal events.