Hanoi, Vietnam (ANTARA) - Chairperson of the Indonesia Olympic Committee (KOI) Raja Sapta Oktohari has said that the postponement of the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 will have a major impact on increasing the budget for the contingent's preparations.
"I think that it will have the biggest impact on the financial sector," he said while reviewing the rowing match of 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Hi Phòng, Vietnam, on Saturday
He assessed that the additional athlete training program for another one year due to the delay will spend more fund.
In addition, it will also affect the athletes’ readiness, he added. .
Since actually they have been prepared to reach their peak performance in a sporting event scheduled to be held in 2022, the postponement may make them lose their momentum and focus.
Although he has regretted the delay, the KOI chairperson admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious threat, thus his party will keep supporting China as the host of the event to be able to implement the Asian Games later.
Meanwhile, Indonesian rowing athlete, Ferdiansyah, said that the delay would give him and his team more time to prepare before competing at the four-yearly multi-event.
"Indeed, the postponement brings advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that we can have more preparation. However, we will also make a greater sacrifice of our time and material,” he added.
The Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 was supposed to be held on September 10-25, 2022. However, on May 6, 2022, the organizing committee announced that the event will be postponed.
According to the statement at the official site of Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the OCA Executive Board (EB), the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), as well as the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC), had taken the postponement decision after carefully considering the pandemic situation and the size of the implementation of the event.
Hangzhou is located near Shanghai, which has been implemented regional lockdown for several weeks.
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