Three mascots at the press briefing Photo: Fang Jianfei

Draws of four team events were unveiled at the second press briefing of Hangzhou Asian Games on Thursday, marking a milestone in the countdown to the Asian showpiece.

A record number of 12,527 athletes from 45 countries and regions will participate in 40 sports at the Games, which will run from September 23 to October 8 in East China's Zhejiang Province, according to the press briefing.

The official draw for men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, handball and sepaktakraw were conducted by the continent’s respective governing bodies on Thursday afternoon in Hangzhou. 

As one of the title contenders, China’s women’s soccer team, who are competing in the World Cup Australia & New Zealand, is drawn with Uzbekistan and Mongolia in group A.

The women’s volleyball team, who finished runners-up at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League on July 17, will face India and North Korea in their group games.

All 54 Asian Games venues have been ready for competition and the Asian Games Village and Sub-villages are ready for accommodation. 

The Main Media Center will begin operations starting from September 18.

Moreover, Hangzhou has pioneered opening venues to the public before the Games, involving over eight million people participating in sports and fitness activities. It has also opened the Asian Games Museum to promote sports in Asia. Besides, efforts have been made to enhance the city's transportation networks, build special routes for the Games and renovate city roads to welcome the Asian Games.