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The Asian Swimming Championships due to be held in the Philippines has been postponed to 2023 because of COVID-19 restrictions. The swimming continental event was originally scheduled to be held last year from November 7 to 17 but was deferred by 12 months due to the pandemic.
The Asia Swimming Federation (AASF) planned to host the championship this month at the Aquatics Centre, New Clark City. But they have now been forced to put it back to 2023. This means an end to the 2021 season for Indian swimmers including Srihari Nataraj, Maana Patel and Sajan Prakash.
The National Federations will get further information in the near future.
The Asian Swimming Championship is usually held every four years, with its last edition being held in Tokyo in 2016.
The 11th edition of the Championships is scheduled for the Aquatics Centre situated in the Capas municipality of Tarlac province.
Swimming, water polo and diving events at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Philippines were held there. However, the Championships have now been delayed twice.
COVID-19 plays spoilsport at Asian Swimming Championships
Restrictions on international travel remain in place in the Philippines, which follows a "traffic light" system.
Furthermore, unvaccinated players and officials will have to undergo 14-day mandatory quarantine. For the first seven days, the participants face quarantine at a designated hotel and then the remaining seven at home if a polymerase chain reaction test is returned negative.
From the yellow listed countries, only citizens of the country or those with valid visas and their families are able to enter the Philippines. They have to undergo a 10-day period of quarantine if fully vaccinated.
For passengers traveling from countries in the red list, the Philippines has set more stringent COVID-19 protocols.
The New Clark City Aquatics Centre recently hosted its first swimming event since the Southeast Asian games, with Filipino athletes entering a bio-bubble to compete.
