HISTORY OF ASIAN GAMES

With the 18th Asian Games now underway in Indonesia, this historic event has witnessed many twists and turns over the years. India, for one, has emerged as a formidable challenger, though China continues to rule with its focussed dedication and perseverance. Here’s a glimpse into some anecdotes scripted by the Games, over the years:

The first ever Asiad was held in New Delhi in 1951 and had the representation of only 11 countries in six disciplines. This time, the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang features 45 Asian nations in 58 sporting disciplines.

The Asian Games 2018 edition is the first-ever edition of Asian Games to be played in two different cities of the hosting nation. Some sports such as pencak silat, wushu, jujutsu, paragliding and jet-ski as well as e-sports will be presented at the 2018 Asian Games for the first time.

Jakarta and Palembang were not the first choices to host the Asian Games this time around. The original host was meant to be Hanoi, Vietnam. However, in 2014, Vietnam withdrew its application.

India’s PT Usha widely known as the “queen of Indian track and field” won four golds and one silver medal at the Seoul Asian Games in 1986. Indian shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, at 16, is the youngest Indian gold medalist at the Asian Games. Moreover, he set a new record for the Asian Games when he scored 50.6 and 50.8 in Stage-1 and rounded off to 240.7 points in Stage-2 in the 10 m air pistol final.

In the last edition of the Asian Games played in South Korea, India finished with the remarks of 8th best Asian team in the event with 11 Golds, nine Silvers and 37 Bronze medals and an overall medal count of 57.

China is the best Asian team with 1,342 golds in the history of Asian Games. Apart from Gold, the Nation collected 900 Silvers, 653 Bronze medals with a total of 1,895 medals. Talking about India, our Nation stands at the sixth spot in the all-time Asian Games League with 139 Gold, 178 Silver and 299 Bronze medals and an overall tally of 616 medals.