Russian and Belarusian athletes will not compete at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China starting on September 23 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) concluded that the plan was "not feasible."
"The concept of the participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports at the Asian Games 2023 was explored as discussed at the Olympic Summit in December 2022, but was not feasible due to technical reasons," the insidethegames news portal quoted the IOC as saying.
In July, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) voted at its general assembly to allow up to 500 athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at the Asian Games as neutrals.
The IOC then agreed to explore a proposal and athletes from both nations to take part in some of OCA's Paris 2024 qualifying events at last year's Olympic Summit.
However, an OCA spokesman told insidethegames that there would be "no Russian and Belarusian athletes [at the Asian Games], and it is IOC's decision, not OCA."
Russian and Belarusian athletes were unable to compete at the European Games earlier this year.
The Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and are set to run from September 23 to October 8.
The IOC initially banned Russia and Belarus from international sports events after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022. However, a few months ago, it recommended to sports federations to allow Russians and Belarusians a return, as neutral athletes in individual events and under strict conditions.
This recommendation, however, doesn't concern their participation at the Summer Olympics in Paris next year and the Winter Olympics Milano Cortina in 2026.
A decision on the matter will be taken "at the appropriate time," the IOC said.
Last month, the IOC sent invitations to Paris 2024 to 203 eligible nations. Guatemala, which is currently suspended, as well as Russia and Belarus due to the ongoing war in Ukraine were excluded.
