Asian Games

Asian Games
Official logo of the Games
Games
1951 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Sports (details)
Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Boxing Canoeing Cricket Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Field hockey Football Golf Gymnastics Handball Judo Kabaddi Karate Modern pentathlon Rowing Rugby union Sailing Sepaktakraw Shooting Soft tennis Squash Swimming Synchronized swimming Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Water polo Weightlifting Wrestling Wushu

Asian Games

Abbreviation	Asiad
First event	1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India
Occur every	four years
Last event	2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea
Purpose	Multi sport event for nations on the Asian continent

The Asian Games, also known as Asiad,^[2] is a Pancontinental 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 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation.^[3] The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.^[4][5]

In its history, nine nations have hosted the Asian Games. Forty-six nations have participated in the Games, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in 1974.

The last Games was held in Incheon, South Korea from 19 September to 4 October 2014.

History

Prior formation

Before the Asian Games were held, a gathering known as the Far Eastern Championship Games existed which was first mooted in 1912 at a location set between the Empire of Japan, the Philippine Islands, and China. The Far Eastern Games were first held in Manila in 1913 with 6 participating nations. Ten more Far Eastern Games were held until 1934. Against the backdrop of the second Sino-Japanese War in 1934, in the face of Japan's insistence on including Manchu Empire as a competitor nation in the Games, China announced its withdrawal from participation. Consequently, the Far Eastern Games scheduled for 1938 were cancelled. The organization was ultimately discontinued

Formation

After World War II, a number of Asian countries became independent. Many of the newly independent Asian countries desired the formation of a new type of competition whereby Asian dominance was not expressed through violence, but instead strengthened through 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, Guru Dutt Sondhi, the Indian International Olympic Committee representative, did not believe that restoration of the Far Eastern Games would sufficiently display the spirit of unity and level of achievement taking place in Asian sports. As a result, he proposed to sports leaders the idea of having a wholly new competition  – which came to be the Asian Games. This led to an agreement to form the Asian Athletic Federation. A preparatory committee was then 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.^[6][7]

Crisis, reorganization, expansion

First Asian Games opening ceremony

Starting in 1962, the Games were hit by several crises. First, the host country Indonesia, refused to permit the participation of Israel and Taiwan due to political and religious issues. As a result, the IOC removed its sponsorship of the Games and terminated Indonesia as one of the IOC members.^[8] The Asian Football Confederation (AFC),^[9] International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) and International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), also removed their recognition of the Games.^[10][11]

In 1970, South Korea dropped its plan to host the Games allegedly due to national security crisis, however the main reason was due to financial crisis, forcing the previous host Thailand to administer the Games again in Bangkok using funds transferred from South Korea.^[12] Prior to the Games, Japan was asked to host the Games, but declined due to Expo '70 in Osaka.^[13] This edition also marked the first time the Games have a television broadcasting throughout the world.^[14] In 1974, the Games formally recognized the participation of China, North Korea and Mongolia. Israel was allowed to participate despite the opposition from Arab world, while Taiwan was permitted to continue taking part (as "Chinese Taipei" despite its status was abolished in general meeting on 16 November 1973 by Games Federation.^[15]

The last is 1978, Pakistan dropped its plan to host the Games in 1975 due to financial crisis and political issues.^[16] Thailand offered to help and the Games were once again held in Bangkok. However, once again, like in 1962, Taiwan and Israel were refused the participation by Games Federation, amid political issues and security fears.^[17] Several governing bodies protested against the ban, like IAAF, threatened to bar the participating players from 1980 Summer Olympics,^[18] this caused several teams to withdraw prior to the Games.^[19]

Following this series of crises, the National Olympic Committee in Asia decided to revise the constitution of the Asian Games Federation. A new association, named the Olympic Council of Asia, was created in November 1981 with the exclusion of Israel.^[20] India was already scheduled to host the 1982 Games and the OCA decided not to drop the old AGF timetable. The OCA formally supervised the Games starting with the 1986 Asian Games in South Korea.^[21] In the succeeding Games, Taiwan (Republic of China) was re-admitted, but was forced by the China to compete under the name Chinese Taipei.^[22]

In 1994, the Games included the former republics of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the first time. It was also the first time that the Games had been held outside the capital city of the host country.^[23] However, Iraq was suspended from the Games due to the Persian Gulf War in 1990, while North Korea boycotted the Games due to political issues. It was also marred by the death of Nepalese delegation Nareshkumar Adhikari during the Games' opening ceremony.^[24] The 1998 Games marked the fourth time the Games had been held in Bangkok, Thailand. The fourth opening ceremony occurred on 6 December, compared to 9 December for the previous 3. All four games were opened by H.M.King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The date of the closing ceremony remained as 20 December for all 4 games hosted by Thailand.

Participation

2006 Asian Games

All 45 members affiliated to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) are eligible to take part in the Games.

According to membership in the OCA, transcontinental Kazakhstan participates in the Asian Games but Egypt does not, participating in the All-Africa Games instead. Various countries participating in the European Games rather than the Asian Games are partially or fully in Asia: Turkey, Russia (major parts in Asia); Azerbaijan, Georgia (almost completely in Asia); Cyprus, Armenia, Israel (fully in Asia).

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.^[25] Israel requested to participate in the 1982 Games, but the request was rejected by the organizers due to incident in 1972 Summer Olympics.^[26] Israel is now a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC).

Taiwan, Palestine, Hong Kong, and Macau participate in the Asian Games according to membership in OCA. Due to its continuing ambiguous political status, Taiwan participates in the Games under the flag of Chinese Taipei since 1990. Macau NOC 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 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 Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC).^[27] Being members of ONOC, Australia and New Zealand participates in Pacific Games since 2015.

Only seven countries, namely India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand have competed in all editions of the games.

Sports

Forty-four sports were presented in Asian Games history, including 2014 Games in Incheon.

Sport Years Aquatics since 1951 Archery since 1978 Athletics since 1951 Badminton since 1962 Baseball since 1994 Basketball since 1951 Board games 2006–2010 Bodybuilding 2002–2006 Bowling 1978, 1986, since 1994 Boxing since 1954 Canoeing since 1986 Cricket since 2010 Cue sports 1998–2010 Cycling 1951, since 1958 Dancesport 2010 Dragon boat 2010 Equestrian 1982–1986, since 1994 Fencing 1974–1978, since 1986 Field hockey since 1958 Football since 1951 Golf since 1982 Gymnastics since 1974

Sport Years Handball since 1982 Judo since 1986 Kabaddi since 1990 Karate since 1994 Modern pentathlon 1994, 2002, since 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 Triathlon since 2006 Volleyball since 1958 Weightlifting 1951–1958, since 1966 Wrestling since 1954 Wushu since 1990

Medal count

Of the 46 National Olympic Committees participating throughout the history of the Games, 43 nations have won at least a single medal in the competition, leaving three nations: Bhutan, Maldives and Timor-Leste yet to win a single medal. 37 nations have won at least one gold medal (only Japan and India have done so at every Asian Games), while Japan and China became the only two nations in history to emerge as overall champions.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China (CHN)	1,342	900	653	2,895
2	Japan (JPN)	957	980	913	2,850
3	South Korea (KOR)	696	606	761	2,063
4	Iran (IRI)	159	161	175	495
5	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	140	141	200	481
6	India (IND)	139	178	299	616
7	Thailand (THA)	121	159	233	513
8	North Korea (PRK)	98	132	166	396
9	Indonesia (INA)	87	117	203	407
10	Chinese Taipei (TPE)	82	125	255	452
11	Philippines (PHI)	63	112	215	390
12	Uzbekistan (UZB)	63	96	114	273
13	Malaysia (MAS)	56	88	132	276
14	Pakistan (PAK)	44	63	93	200
15	Singapore (SIN)	37	55	101	193
Total		4,340	4,317	5,136	13,793

Samsung MVP award

Samsung introduced the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in Asian Games beginning in the 1998 Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Below is the list of winners:

Year	Athlete	Sport	Ref
1998	Koji Ito	Athletics	[28]
2002	Kosuke Kitajima	Swimming	[28]
2006	Park Tae-hwan	Swimming	[29]
2010	Lin Dan	Badminton	[30]
2014	Kosuke Hagino	Swimming	[31]

Editions

1951, 1982

1954

1958

1962, 2018

1966, 1970, 1978, 1998

1974

1986

1990

1994

2002

2006

2010

2014

2018

2022

Host cities of the games through 2022

Year	Games	Host	Dates	Nations	Athletes	Sports	Events	Ref
1951	I	New Delhi, India	4–11 March	11	489	6	57	[32]
1954	II	Manila, Philippines	1–9 May	19	970	8	76	[33]
1958	III	Tokyo, Japan	24 May – 1 June	16	1,820	13	97	[34]
1962	IV	Jakarta, Indonesia	24 August – 4 September	12	1,460	13	120	[35]
1966	V	Bangkok, Thailand	9–20 December	16	1,945	14	143	[36]
1970	VI	Bangkok, Thailand	9–20 December	16	2,400	13	135	[37]
1974	VII	Tehran, Iran	1–16 September	19	3,010	16	202	[38]
1978	VIII	Bangkok, Thailand	9–20 December	19	3,842	19	201	[39]
1982	IX	New Delhi, India	19 November – 4 December	33	3,411	21	199	[40]
1986	X	Seoul, South Korea	20 September – 5 October	27	4,839	25	270	[41]
1990	XI	Beijing, China	22 September – 7 October	36	6,122	29	310	[42]
1994	XII	Hiroshima, Japan	2–16 October	42	6,828	34	337	[43]
1998	XIII	Bangkok, Thailand	6–20 December	41	6,554	36	376	[44]
2002	XIV	Busan, South Korea	29 September – 14 October	44	7,711	38	419	[45]
2006	XV	Doha, Qatar	1–15 December	45	9,520	39	424	[46]
2010	XVI	Guangzhou, China	12–27 November	45	9,704	42	476	[47]
2014	XVII	Incheon, South Korea	19 September – 4 October	45	9,501	36	439	[48]
2018	XVIII	Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia	18 August – 2 September	Future event				[49]
2022	XIX	Hangzhou, China	10–25 September	Future event

Centennial Festival

On 8 November 2012, the OCA decided at its 31st General Assembly in Macau to create a special multi-sport event called Asian Games Centennial Festival in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Oriental Games (later became Far Eastern Championship Games).^[50] OCA awarded the Philippines the hosting rights as it was the same host 100 years ago. The event was originally scheduled to be held in Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan on 27 to 29 November 2013 but due to the events surrounding Typhoon Haiyan, it was moved to January 2014.^[51]

See also

• Asian Para Games
• List of IOC country codes

References

1. "Jeux Olympiques - Sports, Athlètes, Médailles, Rio 2016". olympic.org.
2. China's Great Leap: The Beijing Games and Olympian Human Rights Challenges. Seven Stories. ISBN 9781583228432.
3. "OCA History". OCA. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
4. "Asian Games Taps Three-Time Olympic Sportscaster For New Sports Radio Talk Show". Sports Biz Asia. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
5. "Fully renovated basketball arena ready for Asian Games". Sports City. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
6. "亚运会是从什么时候开始举办的,每几年举办一次?". wangchao.org. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
7. "亚运会的前世今生：前身远东运动会 中国成绩优异". Sina. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
8. "Track: Asian Games Dropped By Olympics". Daytona Beach. 23 August 1962. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
9. "第4届 1962年雅加达亚运会". data.sports.163.com. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
10. "Penalty Dealt to Indonesia". Spokane Daily Chronicles. 13 September 1962. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
11. "Warning". The Age. 30 August 1962. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
12. "第六届 1970年曼谷亚运会". Data.sports.163.com. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
13. "Thailand’s Sporting Spirit". Pattaya Mail Sports. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
14. "第六届 1970年曼谷亚运会". data.sports.163. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
15. "第七届 1974年德黑兰亚运会". data.sports.163.com. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
16. "第8届 1978年曼谷亚运会". Data.sports.163.com. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
17. "Asian Games Federation says no to Israel". Anchorage Daily News. 3 June 1978. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
18. "New Israeli rejection forces Asian athletes to risk Olympic hope". The Montreal Gazette. 22 November 1978. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
19. "Indonesia, Hong Kong protest ban on Israel". St. Petersburg Times. 4 December 1978. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
20. "Israelis facing Asian ban". Ottawa Citizen. 10 December 1981. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
21. "Olympics". The Montreal Gazette. 28 November 1981. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
22. "China welcomes Taiwan's AG trip". Manila Standard. 16 July 1988. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
23. "第12届 1994年广岛亚运会". data.sports.163.com. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
24. "Let the Games Begin". New Straits Times. 3 October 1994. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
25. "Asian Games ban Israel". St. Petersburg Times. 26 July 1976. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
26. "Israel not invited to Asian Games". Lakeland Ledger. 26 May 1982. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
27. "No place for Australia in Asian Games". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
28. "Outstanding Japanese athletes in Asian Games". gz2010.cn. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
29. "S Korean Swimmer Park Named MVP". China.org.cn. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
30. "Lin Dan voted Asian Games MVP". Jakarta Post. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
31. "Samsung MVP Award: 2014 MVP is Kosuke Hagino of Japan". The Korea Herald. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
32. "1st AG New Delhi 1951". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
33. "2nd AG Manila 1954". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
34. "3rd AG Tokyo 1958". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
35. "4th AG Jakarta 1962". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
36. "5th AG Bangkok 1966". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
37. "6th Asian Games Bangkok 1970". OCA. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
38. "7th AG Tehran 1974". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
39. "8th AG Bangkok 1978". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
40. "9th AG New Delhi 1982". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
41. "10th AG Seoul 1986". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
42. "11th AG Beijing 1990". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
43. "12th AG Hiroshima 1994". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
44. "13th AG Bangkok 1998". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
45. "14th AG Busan 2002". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
46. "15th AG Doha 2006". OCA. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
47. "16th AG Guangzhou 2010". OCA. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
48. "17th AG Incheon 2014". OCA. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
49. "OCA announces sports for Palembang at Jakarta Asian Games 2018". Olympic Council of Asia. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
50. "OCA General Assembly opens in Macau". OCA. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
51. "Philippines to host 2013 Centennial Asian Games". Inquirer Sports. Retrieved 19 February 2013.

Further reading

• Stefan Huebner, Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913-1974. Singapore: National University of Singapore Press, April 2016.
• Stefan Huebner, The Fourth Asian Games (Jakarta 1962) in a Transnational Perspective: Japanese and Indian Reactions to Indonesia’s Political Instrumentalisation of the Games, in: International Journal of the History of Sport 29,9 (2012), 1295-1310.

External links

• Olympic Council of Asia: Games
• Research project on the history of the Asian Games