TEHRAN - Head coach of Iran men's national swimming team, Khashayar Hazrati, says that the postponement of the 2022 Asian Games has massively changed the planning and the goals of the team.

The 2022 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 in the host country.

“After the final phase of the Iranian swimming league, the national swimmers rested for a while and then we started training camps to prepare for the 2022 Asian Games,” Hazrati said in his interview with Tehran Times.

“We also have the FINA World Championships in Budapest next month and two swimmers will be sent to this tournament.

“Our main plans were for the 2022 Islamic Solidarity Games and the 2022 Asian Games. However, with the postponement of the Hangzhou Games, we have to change our plans a little and make the Islamic Solidarity Games the final target for the current year.

“I hope we will not face the cancellation and postponement of the Islamic Solidarity Games again this year so that we can plan for the competitions. Athletes should have enough motivation to practice and continue progress in their training process,” he added.

When asked about the financial situation of the Iranian swimming federation, Hazrati said: “In terms of financial condition, we are not in good situation at the moment. We were due to travel to Greece for a training camp, which was canceled for financial problems.”

Speaking about the general condition of swimming in Iran, Hazrati expressed some positive points.

“In the last year, many records were set in different styles, which proved that a good movement and program has started since many years ago in Iranian swimming and it continues.

“I hope that the financial problems will be solved. Apart from the national team players, the athletes of the junior categories must also be able to have better facilities to get better results, and the progress of Iranian swimming must be faster than before,” he concluded.