Qatar has won the rights to host the Asian Games in 2030. The selection was made at the 39th OCA General Assembly in Muscat.

Doha beat Riyadh to clinch the hosting rights for the 2030 Asian Games at the general assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia on Wednesday in Muscat, the regional governing body announced.

OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah announced the winner at the conclusion of the vote, which was live streamed, adding that Riyadh would host the 2034 edition of the Games.

An executive board meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) unanimously approved the proposal to name the runner-up in the two-horse race for the 2030 games as 2034 hosts.

"I can now announce... that the city who had the highest vote and will host 2030 is Doha," said OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah. "The second hosting city, for 2034, is Riyadh."

Voting was delayed by hours after technical problems with the online system, in place to allow some national olympic committees to participate remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I apologise for the technical problem we are facing during our voting," said Sheikh Ahmad. 

"Today the difficult things have been solved and the easy things have been problems."

"I will be glad to have two games in west Asia, to be honest," added Sheikh Ahmad.

"Our goal is simple. We want to see more Asian athletes in the future, on future Olympic podiums," said Qatar Olympic Committee chief Joaan bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani ahead of the vote.

"We want that to be part of your national sports history, not just ours. And we want to support you in the efforts to get there." 

A video showcased Qatar's raft of sporting and transport infrastructure being prepared ahead of the 2022 football World Cup that would be repurposed for the 2030 games. The games will have a $1.3 billion budget. 

The Doha bid team claimed that 90 percent of the infrastructure for the 2030 games was already in place.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are locked in a long-running political dispute, had bid for the hosting rights to the second-biggest multi-sport event after the Olympics.

Doha hosted the 2006 Games, while Saudi Arabia has never organised an OCA multi-sport event.

Qatar is also participating in the bidding process for the 2032 summer Olympics.