The Asian Games 2022, which were scheduled to be held in September in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, has been postponed until 2023 due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed that the Asian Games will be postponed until 2023, Reuters reported.

The call, which was first confirmed by the Chinese state media, has been taken with China is battling a resurgence in Covid-19 infections. 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 on edge now.

The decision comes even as China was able to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing earlier this year. There were strict Covid-19 protocols in place and the Games were held behind closed doors in February 2022.

Notably, India's Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had said last month that a call on India's participation in the Asian Games would be taken depending on China's assessment of the situation and its readiness to host the continental event amid the rising cases, according to Reuters.

"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," Thakur had said.

The Asian Games is the latest in the list of major sporting events which have seen delays or cancellations due to the Covid-19 crisis. The biggest global sporting event, the Olympic Games, were postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic in 2020. The Summer Games went ahead even as a section of the public in Japan were against the country hosting the global sporting spectacle.

The Olympic Games went ahead without any major Covid-19 impact as athletes from across the globe experienced the new normal as they deal with the pressure of the Olympics in Tokyo.

The 2018 edition of the Asian Games were held in Jakarta and Palembang. India had finished 8th in the medal table with a total of 69 medals, including 15 gold medals. India's elite athletes will set their sights on the Commonwealth Games in the absence of the Asian Games this year. The CWG will be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8, Reuters reported.