OCA Confident of 'Excellent' Asian Games in 2022

Hangzhou, China, February 19, 2019: The Olympic Council of Asia has every confidence that Hangzhou will stage an "excellent" Asian Games in 2022 and add to the Olympic legacy in China.

In a meeting with the Mayor of Hangzhou, Xu Liyi, on Tuesday, the OCA’s Honorary Life Vice President, Raja Randhir Singh, said China’s experience in organising international multi-sport events would guarantee a successful Asiad in 2022.

"This will be the third time China has hosted our Asian Games, following Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010," said Raja Randhir, who is leading the OCA’s delegation for the first meeting of the Coordination Committee for the 2022 Asian Games.

"As well as this, China has conducted many other big events such as the Olympic Games, the Asian Winter Games and soon the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.

"For this reason we are very confident that Hangzhou will present a great Asian Games and continue the legacy of the Olympic movement in China.

"With your support and close cooperation with the Olympic Council of Asia, we are really looking forward to an excellent occasion."

Mayor Xu said the preparations for the Asian Games in 2022 would be the priority for Hangzhou in the coming years.

"We are pushing forward with the coordination of the venues, and the development of the operations of our venues is going on as scheduled," he said.

"The central government, the Zhejiang provincial government and the Hangzhou city government have placed big emphasis on this event and will support all the preparations."

Mayor Xu described Hangzhou as a city "full of vitality and vigour" that was famous in China for being the home of two UNESCO world heritage sites – the West Lake and Grand Canal.

"We will use the Asian Games in 2022 to escalate the city of Hangzhou in terms of transportation, infrastructure and city management," he said.

The first day of the Coordination Committee visit involved venue tours in the morning and afternoon, with the official meeting beginning in the evening and also scheduled for the morning of the second day.

The venue tour included the main stadium, the site for the Athletes’ Village, Technical Officials’ Village and Media Village, the Hangzhou International Expo Centre, the Guali Culture and Sports Centre for wushu and kabbadi and the Zhejiang University of Technology, venue for cricket.

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