TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Asian Olympic Council (OCA) chairman said they can no longer accept athletes from Oceania region, including Australia and New Zealand, to compete in the Asian Games starting in 2022.
Athletes from the two countries had competed in the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo earlier this year guest participants. AT the time, the Australian Olympic Committee said there were talks about the possibility of participating in the Summer Games.
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For the first time, 19 Oceania nations participated in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Festival (AIMAG) in Turkmenistan this month. But OCA Chairman, Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah said the Asian Games is already too big.
"I hope at the next Indoor Games we will have the same experience and Oceania will continue with us in the Indoor Games," he said at a press conference, adding that the Asian Beach Games might also be an option for Oceania athletes.
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However, he said that the Asian Games already have some 15,000 participants—athletes and officials included, and they " cannot have an Olympic Village with more than 15,000 people."
The 2018 Asian Games will take place in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. The next games in 2022 will be held in Hangzhou, China.
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