LAUSANNE: Russian and Belarusian athletes will not compete at the Asian Games in China this month after the International Olympic Committee concluded that the plan was “not feasible.”

Both countries have been excluded from many sports events since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though individual athletes have been allowed to compete under certain restrictions.

The IOC said earlier this year that a pathway for their athletes’ participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics, albeit as neutral athletes, should be explored.

At a meeting in Bangkok in July, the General Assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia voted to allow a maximum of 500 competitors from those countries to compete, to allow them to gain qualification standards for the Olympics.