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The Asian Games scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, China in September this year has been postponed.

This is because the corona virus is spreading again in China, and plans to hold it next year are being considered.



Correspondent Ji-Sung Kim from Beijing, China will deliver more details.



<Reporter> The



Asian Olympic Council announced today (6th) that the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games will be postponed.



It has been discussed with the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee, and it is said that "the decision was made in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the size of the event."



Originally, the Hangzhou Asian Games was scheduled to be held from September 10 to 25, with over 11,000 athletes participating, nearly four times the number of the Beijing Winter Olympics.



The new competition period will be announced soon, but plans to hold it next year are being discussed.



[Chinese CCTV Broadcasting: The 19th Asian Games has been postponed, and a specific date has been decided to be announced.]



Until last February, China held a large-scale commemorative event and was confident that it would be a success, but recently, as Corona 19 spreads, It is interpreted as a change of position.



Hangzhou is 180 km away from Shanghai, where the lockdown has been going on for the 40th day, and more than 1,400 cumulative infections have been reported in Zhejiang Province, where Hangzhou belongs.



The capital, Beijing, is also seeing an increase in the number of infections.



Yesterday, President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to adhere to a strong quarantine policy, the so-called 'zero corona', which is also interpreted as a background to the postponement of the Games.



The fact that the party congress that will determine whether President Xi Jinping will take office for the third time immediately after the Hangzhou Asian Games is scheduled also seems to have put a burden on the Chinese leadership.



This is the first time that the Asian Summer Games have been postponed since the first tournament in 1951, and there is concern that it will affect the skills of the players who have been sweating while looking forward to September of this year.



(Video coverage: Choi Duk-hyun, video editing: Lee Jung-taek, CG: Seo Seung-hyun)