The Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games flame was lit at the Liangzhu ancient city on Thursday, to mark the 100-day countdown to the opening of the 19th Asian Games.
The flame was lit out of a concave mirror using the sun’s rays. Then a flame collector handed the torch to Yi Lianhong, secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, who ignited the cauldron. At the same time, a digital torch relay kicked off online, reports Xinhua.
The Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games will be held from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
The Games that were scheduled to be held in 2022 were postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic in China. China had around that time postponed or cancelled many events as the country went into severe lockdown to contain the pandemic.
With things returning to normal a few months back, construction work had started. With almost half a year to go before the Games open in Hangzhou, all facilities for the event were ready.
A total of 56 competition facilities will be used in Hangzhou 2022, including 12 newly built venues, 44 renovated and temporary facilities. Click here to see where Asia’s top athletes will be going for glory later this year.
In all, competitions in 482 events in 40 sports will be conducted during the fortnight-long extravaganza with a majority of the 45 nations and territories in the continent expected to participate.
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