ASIAN GAMESPlay Games in the Spirit of Games -- Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru

1951

IntroductionThe Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a 

multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1982 Games. Since the 1982

 they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the break up of the Asian Games Federation. The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are 

described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.

A VIEW of 1st ASIAD

TILL NOWIn its history, only nine nations

have hosted the Asian Games. 46 nations have participated in the

Games, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in 1974.

Games Site, 1951-2014

Asian  Games  LogoMotto : Ever Onward First Event : 1951 in Delhi, India Occur every four years Last Event : 2010 in Guangzhou,China Purpose : Multi sport event for nations on the Asian continent

BACKGROUNDAfter World War II, a number of Asian countries

became independent. Many of the newly independent Asian countries wanted to see a new type of

competition where Asian dominance would not be shown by violence but would be strengthened by

mutual understanding. During the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, a conversation

between sportsmen from China and the Philippines raised the idea of restoring the Far Eastern Games.

However, the Indian International Olympic Committee representative Guru Dutt Sondhi thought that the

restoration of the Games would not be sufficient to show the spirit of unity and level of achievement in

Asian sports,

BACKGOUND – Cont…. so proposed to sports leaders the idea of

having discussions about holding a wholly new competition — the Asian Games. This gave rise

to the agreement to form the Asian Athletic Federation. A preparatory committee was set

up to draft the charter for this new body. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Athletic

Federation was formally inaugurated in New Delhi, alongside the name Asian Games

Federation, with New Delhi announced as the first host city of the Asian Games which were

scheduled to be held in 1950.

TEHRAN ASIAD - 1974

ParticipationAll 45 members affiliated to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)

are eligible to take part in the Games. In history, 46 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have sent competitors to the

Games. Israel has been excluded from the Games since 1976, the reason cited as being due to security reasons. Israel

requested to participate in the 1982 Games, but the request was rejected by the organizers due to 

incident in 1972 Summer Olympics. Israel is now a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC).

Due to its continuing ambiguous political status, Taiwan has participated in the Games under the flag of Chinese Taipei since

1990.

Participation – Cont…. Macau is allowed to compete as one of the NOCs in Asian Games, despite not being recognized by the International

Olympic Committee (IOC) for participation in the Olympic Games.

In 2007, the President of OCA, Sheikh Ahmed Al- Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, rejected the proposal to allow Australia to participate in the Games. He stated that while Australia would

add good value to the Asian Games, it would be unfair to the other NOCs in Oceania.

Only seven countries, namely India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand have competed

in all editions of the games.

Guangzhou Asiad - 2010

Sports44 sports were presented in Asian Games history, including 2010 Games in 

Guangzhou.

Sport Years Aquatics since 1951 Archery since 1978 Athletics since 1951 Badminton since 1962 Baseball since 1994 Basketball since 1951 Board games since 2006 Bodybuilding 2002–2006 Bowling 1978, 1986, since 1994 Boxing since 1954 Canoeing since 1986 Cricket 2010 Cue sports since 1998 Cycling 1951, since 1958 Dancesport2010 Dragon boat 2010 Equestrian 1982–1986, since 1994 Fencing 1974–1978, since 1986 Football since 1951 Golf since 1982 Gymnastics since 1974 Handball since 1982 Sport Years Hockey since 1958 Judo since 1986 Kabaddi since 1990 Karate since 1994 Modern pentathlon 1994, 2002, 2010 Roller sports 2010 Rowing since 1982 Rugby union since  1998 Sailing 1970, since 1978 Sepaktakraw since 1990 Shooting since 1954 Softball since 1990 Soft tennis since 1990 Squash since 1998 Table tennis 

1958–1966, since 1974 Taekwondo 1986, since 1994 Tennis 1958–1966, since 1974 Tiathlon since 2006 Volleyball since 1958 Weightlifting 1951–1958, since 

1966 Wrestling since 1954 Wushu since 1990

Asiad Postcard 

Rank Country Gold

Silver Bronze

Total

1 China 199 119 98 416

2 Korea 76 65 91 232

3 Japan 48 74 94 216

4 Iran 20 14 25 59

5 Kazakhstan

18 23 38 79

6 India 14 17 33 64

Future changes

The number of competition events is scheduled to shrink down to just 35 sports at the 2014

 Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea. 2014 will also see the last Games hosted in even-

numbered year, as the Olympic Council of Asia pushed the subsequent Games to just one year

ahead of the Olympic Games. This means the 18th Asian Games which were originally planned

for 2018 will be pushed to 2019.

LET THE GAMES WIN