Call on India's 2022 Asian Games participation to be taken after talks with China: Sports Minister Anurag Thakur

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday said a call on India's participation at this year's Asian Games will be taken after receiving feedback from host nation China, which is striving to bring the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Shanghai and Beijing under control.

Shanghai, the financial hub of the country, has been under a lockdown for a month now while more curbs have been introduced in Beijing which is one edge now. Rumours are doing rounds that the Hangzhou Asian Games, scheduled to held from September 10 to 25, will be postponed due to the pandemic.

"What is the situation there (in China) and what the host nation is saying about the situation is important," Thakur said on the sidelines of an event. "All other participating nations are discussing and in some time India will also take a decision but before that the host nation should make it clear what are they thinking and how much prepared they are," the minister added.

While several international sporting events were cancelled in China because of the pandemic, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics were were held behind close doors under strict COVID-19 guidelines.