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The Asian Youth Athletics Championships scheduled to be held in Kuwait from March 1 to 4 has been postponed due to a new wave of Omicron pandemic, CK Valson, competition director, Asian Athletics Association (AAA) said on Tuesday.
“Several countries have expressed their inability to take part in the continental competition in March due to a surge in new wave of pandemic cases. So, they (Kuwait) have decided to postpone the Asian Youth Athletics Championships,” Valson told Sportskeeda over the phone from Bangkok.
According to Valson, fresh dates will be announced later. However, the Asian Cross Country Championship is still scheduled to be held in Nepal in March as per the calendar.
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“As of now the Asian Cross-Country Championship will be held in Nepal," he said. "The one-day competition will take place on March 12 at the Kathmandu golf club course."
In November last year, Valson and his team visited the Asian countries which have been allotted continental competitions for on-the-spot inspection. However, the latest surge in cases has prompted them to change their decision.
“All necessary arrangements were in place for the successful conduct of the Asian Youth Athletics Championships when we visited Kuwait last year in November," said Valson. "But the situation changed in December 2021 due to Omicron pandemic. There is surge in COVID-19 cases in January."
Last year, the Asian athletics calendar was disrupted due to escalating COVID-19 cases. There was hope that activities would resume in 2022.
“We hope the Asian Indoor Track and Field meet scheduled to be held next month in Kazakhstan will be as per plan," he said. "The continental competition will be held in Nur Sultan."
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has also decided to call off the 17th edition of the National Youth Athletics Championship scheduled to be held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The AFI in a release said on Tuesday that the event originally scheduled from January 27 has been postponed due to the pandemic.
