LAHORE - The International Olympic Committee (IOC), in its 136th Session, confirmed the decision to postpone the 4th Youth Olympic Games Dakar to be held in 2022 to 2026. The proposal to postpone the Summer Youth Olympic Games was made by Senegalese partners and friends, which was welcomed by the IOC, said Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Secretary M Khalid Mehmood here on Saturday. He said the IOC President stated: “It allows all of us, the IOC, the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations to better balance our activities. We have been strongly affected by the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and by the subsequent rescheduling of a number of major international sports events, resulting in a very crowded international sports calendar between 2022 and 2024.  “One of the consequences of the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was that we would have had to organise and support 5 Games in 3 years with all the financial, organisational and logistical challenges. On the other hand, Senegal can now carry on the excellent preparations for the YOG under the great leadership of our colleague and friend Mr Mamadou Ndiaye. “We understand that this news will be disappointing for many young athletes who were preparing for the YOG. With this in mind, the IOC will continue to offer all IFs and NOC Continental Associations the full content of the educational programmes of the YOG. “This will allow us to maintain the objectives of this very important and much appreciated component of the Youth Olympic Games, through the many events organised until 2026, in particular during the Continental Youth Games and IF youth-level championships, a number of which would have been used as qualification events for Dakar 2022. In addition, it goes without saying that the NOCs will continue to receive support towards their youth development programmes through Olympic Solidarity.” “At this stage it is planned that the sports programme of Dakar 2022 will remain in place for Dakar 2026, however this and other key planning elements will be confirmed as the arrangements for the new dates are addressed,” the IOC President concluded.