Athletes from Australia and the rest of Oceania have been invited to compete at the 2022 Asian Games, Australian Olympic chief John Coates said Thursday,
days after the Olympic Council of Asia said such a move was unlikely.
The OCA’s invite to the Games in China’s Hangzhou is for selected sports only to enable
regional athletes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics through Asian competition, Coates said.
Oceania-Australia, New Zealand and a swathe of Pacific islands-has not taken part in the regional Olympics before, but sporting ties with Asia have been growing.
Australia has been a member of the Asian Football Confederation since 2006, and Oceania nations are currently competing at the Asian Indoor Games and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan.
