MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A small contingent of athletes from Oceania nations will be allowed to compete at the 2022 Asian Games in China so long as their qualification paths for the 2024 Paris Olympics go through Asia, the Australian Olympic Committee said on Thursday. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will allow around 300 athletes and 150 support staff from Oceania nations to compete at the Hangzhou Games. The AOC's statement came two days after the OCA's powerful President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah said the Asian Games was already too big to accommodate Oceania athletes. The nation's athletes competed at the Asian Winter Games as "guests" in Sapporo earlier this year. Next year's version of the quadrennial Asian Games, which is second in size only to the Summer Olympics, takes place in Indonesia with the 2022 edition scheduled for Hangzhou, China.

Source: thestar September 21, 2017 00:11 UTC