The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has offered an avenue for Russian and Belarusian competitors to qualify for next year’s Olympics in Paris after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was considering their return under "strict conditions" of neutrality.

OCA Acting President Randhir Singh said earlier this month that a system was being devised to enable Russian and Belarusian athletes to fight for qualification spots at Paris 2024 but promised that competitors from Asia would not miss out on medals and quota places.

Chinese city Hangzhou is scheduled to stage the Asian Games from September 23 to October 8.

Russian Wrestling Federation President Mikhail Mamiashvili told Russia’s state-owned television channel Match that his organisation had received an invitation to compete at the Asian Games and said they answered by saying they were "ready to participate according to the set rules".

Vasily Titov, head of the Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation, told Match that they had also "received an invitation to take part".

"We will reply that we are interested, and then they will come up with conditions for our participation," said Titov.

The prospect of Russian and Belarusian athletes battling it out for quota places for Paris 2024 at the Asian Games, which have been delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has raised concerns among some participating nations.

Albert Ng, a senior sports executive at the Hong Kong Gymnastics Association, told the South China Morning Post that the country’s athletes "would be more or less affected" by the move.

"If the Asian Olympic Council approves this, I will respect their decision, but there is no doubt that it will have an impact on our athletes and their results," said Ng.

Earlier this month, the Korea Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) called on the OCA for more clarification over the potential involvement of Russian and Belarusian competitors at Hangzhou 2022.

The KSOC has told Yonhap that there has been no consultation from the OCA and is demanding answers from the continental body.

Singh has suggested that separate medals could be awarded to athletes from Asian nations should Russian and Belarusian competitors deny them a place on the podium.

The Indian official also said that they will not be able to participate in combat sports, like wrestling, at the Asian Games.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) told Russia’s official state news agency TASS that it was still awaiting an invitation to participate at the Asian Games.

"At the moment, no invitation with clearly defined conditions for participation in international competitions, including the Asian Games in 2023, have been received by either the ROC or the all-Russian sports federation," a statement from the ROC read.

"As soon as official information about certain decision on this issue appears, the ROC will immediately work it out with the relevant all-Russian sports federations."

According to TASS, the Asian Modern Pentathlon Confederation (AMPC) said it was holding talks with the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) over the involvement of Russian and Belarusian athletes to its competitions.

"We are awaiting for relevant instructions from the UIPM,” said AMPC secretary general Sang Kyung-yo.

The Asian Canoe Confederation also told TASS that it "continues to collect information about the possibility of admission" of athletes from Russia and Belarus and was preparing to discuss the contentious topic with its Board of Directors.

insidethegames has contacted the OCA for comment.