The postponed Asian Beach Games in the Chinese city of Sanya have been rescheduled for 2023 ©OCA

The postponed Asian Beach Games in the Chinese city of Sanya have been rescheduled for 2023, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has announced.

New dates for the sixth edition of the event have not yet been confirmed, but the OCA said it would be held in 2023 following its latest Executive Board meeting.

Sanya had been due to host the Games in 2020, before they were pushed back to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

The OCA then announced last December that the event would not go ahead in its rescheduled April 2 to 10 dates this year and it had been postponed indefinitely.

Beach handball is among the sports set to feature on the Asian Beach Games programme ©Getty Images
Beach handball is among the sports set to feature on the Asian Beach Games programme ©Getty Images

The regional umbrella body had moved the Games to 2021 after the Chinese Government banned the majority of international sports events in 2020 in response to the global health crisis.

Sanya, located on the southern end of China's Hainan Island, is due to be the sixth host of the Asian Beach Games.

Around 2,000 athletes from more than 40 countries are expected to compete in 19 sports when the event does eventually take place.