TEHRAN - The postponement of the 2022 Asian Games has been of benefit for some Iranian athletes and federations, while it also brings its own set of challenges for others.

The Asian Games, scheduled to take place in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in September, have been postponed until 2023 because of the Covid-19 situation, the governing Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said on Friday.

Some athletes are happy with the deferred Games, among them is boxer Danial Shahbakhsh.

Shahbakhsh believes that the postponement of the Games is a “special opportunity” for the athletes.

“I cannot say it was a bad or good thing, but it has happened and we have no choice but to deal with it,” said the first Iranian boxer who won a medal at the World Championships.

“In my view, we can look at this as a special opportunity,” he added. “We all want to win the medal in the competition and now there is more time to practice and prepare to achieve this goal,” Shahbakhsh said.

However, with the postponement, the Iranian Handball Federation is shocked.

"We are still shocked from hearing the news about the deferral of the Games," said Alireza Pakdel, the president of the handball federation.

“We brought a great foreign coach and we have to pay his salary every month. There are plans to hold training camps, and accordingly, camps must be held. This was a shock to us and I hope that after the postponement of the Games the Ministry of Sports and the National Olympic Committee will not leave us alone in terms of financial support. We are in a difficult situation and we need financial support,” he added.

Ebrahim Mehraban, secretary of the Wrestling Federation, also reacted to the postponement of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

“We proceeded according to the selection cycle of the national team and we were preparing two strong teams to participate in the world competitions and the Asian Games. With the postponement of the Asian Games, we continue according to our plan and our whole focus will be on the 2022 World Wrestling Championships in Serbia,” he said.