Editor's Pick: China postpones Asian Games amid COVID uptick

The 19 th Asian Games that were set to be held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in September have been postponed, organisers said on Friday, as China battles a spread of COVID-19 cases. After a meeting with the Chinese Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia said the Asian Games, scheduled to be held in September, would be postponed and new dates announced “in the near future.” The Asian Youth Games, also to be held in China in December, would be cancelled as the games had been postponed once last year. Another event that China was to host, the World University Games, has also been put off. The postponements underlined the costs of China’s “zero-COVID” strategy. The cities had already prepared venues for the events and made extensive arrangements to welcome athletes from around the world. While the rest of the world has opened up and returned to some form of normalcy, China remains the only country still closed to the world and follows a strict “zero-COVID” approach. Most international travellers are still barred in China. This approach has led to a harsh lockdown of Shanghai for more than one month, with many of the city’s 26 million residents still under some form of restriction. Beijing, meanwhile, has carried out repeated mass testing and closed schools as it deals with cases. Amid growing criticism of the stringent measures, the ruling Communist Party’s top leadership met on Thursday and issued a strong signal to reaffirm that the current policy would remain in place. A meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee chaired by President Xi Jinping said the “zero-COVID” approach would continue and warned those who questioned it, saying that the Communist Party would “resolutely oppose” and “resolutely struggle” against those who doubted the current policy. Some Indian athletes reacted to the postponement with dismay, others were relieved. The archery team, for example, said the news had come as a big disappointment, while Indian track and field athletes and Athletics Federation of India contended that the delay will reduce their burden. The season has three big events in World Championships (July 15-24) in Eugene, Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (July 28 to August 8) and the Asian Games. “We will get more time to prepare for the Asian Games,” said Indian Hockey goalkeeper P.R. Sreejes. With COVID cases rising in India too and the WHO urging for more caution, China putting off a likely super-spreader event like the Games makes it an important story of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here The Hindu’s Editorials Cowed down: On the need for strict anti-lynching laws Overcoming differences: On India’s new push for stronger ties with Europe The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Which fast bowler recorded the fastest delivery during the ongoing #IPL season at 157 kph? Navdeep Saini Lockie Ferguson Dushmantha Chameera Umran Malik To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 07 MAY 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( China postpones Asian Games amid COVID uptick The 19 th Asian Games that were set to be held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in September [have been postponed]( organisers said on Friday, as China battles a spread of COVID-19 cases. After a meeting with the Chinese Olympic Committee, the Olympic Council of Asia said the Asian Games, scheduled to be held in September, would be postponed and new dates announced “in the near future.” The Asian Youth Games, also to be held in China in December, would be cancelled as the games had been postponed once last year. Another event that China was to host, the World University Games, has also been put off. The postponements underlined the costs of China’s “zero-COVID” strategy. The cities had already prepared venues for the events and made extensive arrangements to welcome athletes from around the world. While the rest of the world has opened up and returned to some form of normalcy, China remains the only country still closed to the world and follows a strict “zero-COVID” approach. Most international travellers are still barred in China. This approach has led to a harsh lockdown of Shanghai for more than one month, with many of the city’s 26 million residents still under some form of restriction. Beijing, meanwhile, has carried out repeated mass testing and closed schools as it deals with cases. Amid growing criticism of the stringent measures, the ruling Communist Party’s top leadership met on Thursday and issued a strong signal to reaffirm that the current policy would remain in place. A meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee chaired by President Xi Jinping said the “zero-COVID” approach would continue and warned those who questioned it, saying that the Communist Party would “resolutely oppose” and “resolutely struggle” against those who doubted the current policy. Some Indian athletes reacted to the postponement with dismay, others were relieved. The archery team, for example, said the news had come as a [big disappointment]( while Indian track and field athletes and Athletics Federation of India contended that the [delay will reduce their burden](. The season has three big events in World Championships (July 15-24) in Eugene, Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (July 28 to August 8) and the Asian Games. “We will get more time to prepare for the Asian Games,” said Indian Hockey goalkeeper P.R. Sreejes. With COVID cases rising in India too and the WHO urging for more caution, China putting off a likely super-spreader event like the Games makes it an important story of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more.  [Click here]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Cowed down: On the need for strict anti-lynching laws]( [Arrow][Overcoming differences: On India’s new push for stronger ties with Europe]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Which fast bowler recorded the fastest delivery during the ongoing #IPL season at 157 kph? - Navdeep Saini - Lockie Ferguson - Dushmantha Chameera - Umran Malik To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( Today’s Best Reads [[In blow to Boris Johnson, U.K. Conservatives lose London strongholds] In blow to Boris Johnson, U.K. Conservatives lose London strongholds]( [[A new track for capital punishment jurisprudence] A new track for capital punishment jurisprudence]( [[Joe Biden says U.S. sending another military aid worth $150 million for Ukraine] Joe Biden says U.S. sending another military aid worth $150 million for Ukraine]( [[In 1st unanimous statement since Russia’s Ukraine invasion, UNSC expresses deep concern] In 1st unanimous statement since Russia’s Ukraine invasion, UNSC expresses deep concern]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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