With the extended timeframe for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) now passed, any hope of a bid from New Delhi for the 2019 Asian Games has now faded. 

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Thursday told the IOA that they have a “couple of days” to submit the bid documents required for New Delhi to be considered to host the Asian Games in 2019. 

That window of opportunity has now closed, the IOA confirmed on Monday. 

To submit a bid, the IOA needed full political backing and had requested an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was only elected in May. 

"We failed in our efforts to meet the Prime Minister,” IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta told Reuters. 

The IOA had sought a 15-day extension, but this request was rejected by the OCA.

"Honestly, the time was too short. There's no one to blame ... neither the government nor the IOA. We tried our best but it was not enough.

"There is no more chance of bidding for the 2019 Asian Games."

The host of the 2019 Asian Games was originally elected to be Hanoi at an OCA meeting in Macau in November 2012. However, the Vietnamese government withdrew Hanoi from hosting the event, leaving the OCA seeking a replacement. The deadline for applying for candidacy for the Games was set as 1 July 2014.

New Delhi had already put in a bit for the 2014 Asian Games, which takes place from 19 September to 4 October, but it lost out to the South Korean city of Incheon. The OCA is due to announce the new host city of the 2019 Asian Games on 20 September, 2014.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA)’s request for a 15-day extension to Tuesday’s deadline for bidding for the Asian Games has been refused. 

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has instead told the IOA that they have a “couple of days” to submit the bid documents required for New Delhi to be considered to host the Asian Games in 2019.

Hanoi was originally selected as the host of the 2019 Asian Games at an OCA meeting in Macau in November 2012. However, the Vietnamese government withdrew Hanoi from hosting the event, leaving the OCA seeking a replacement. 

The deadline for applying for candidacy for the Games was set as 1 July 2014. The IOA wrote to the OCA requesting a 15-day extension on this deadline, a request that was refused in a letter replying to the IOA. 

“I regret to inform you that due to the extreme shortage of time, it is impossible for the OCA to extend the deadline any further,” said OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam in a letter to IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta.

“Within this two month period we need to establish the evaluation team that will visit the bidding cities and submit its report to the OCA Executive Board on 19th September. 

"However, if you are able to still submit the guarantees within the next couple of days, OCA is willing to consider IOA's bid very positively."

Gaining the necessary approval from the various government ministries involved in such a short space of time will be a major challenge for India.

The Indonesian city of Surabaya, which lost out to Hanoi in the original bidding process, is no longer a candidate as it is hosting the 2021 Asian Youth Games. 

However, a bid from another Indonesian city is considered mostly likely to win the race to host the 2019 Asian Games. On a visit to Jakarta in May, the OCA’s honorary life vice-president Wei Jizhong said "I don't think other competitors can offer better conditions than Indonesia for the time being."

Singapore, Malaysia and possibly Qatar are also said to have expressed interest in hosting the 2019 Asian Games.

The OCA is due to announce the new host city on 20 September, 2014.