Asian Games (Asiad)

The Asian Games (Asiad) are a continental multi-sport athletic event held every four years in locations across Asia and the Middle East. Considered the world’s best-known competitive sports event after the Olympics, the Asian Games are widely viewed as a celebration of Asian identity and a meaningful representation of Asia’s political and economic influence on the global stage. Numerous athletes from across Asia are invited to participate in the Asian Games, which feature a lineup of competitions including both traditional Olympic sports and an array of unique regional sports. Since the opening of the first Asiad in 1951, the Asian Games have grown into one of the largest sporting festivals of its kind anywhere in the world. It continues to expand, as well. In 2019, it was announced that the nations of Oceania would start sending athletes to the Asian Games in 2022. China, Japan, and South Korea have dominated the Asiad from the outset, with each nation taking home more than two thousand medals over the years.

Background

The Asian Games evolved out of several earlier attempts to establish a permanent Pan-Asian competitive sports event. The first and most notable of these efforts resulted in the creation of the Far Eastern Championship Games in 1913. The inaugural edition of the games was staged in Manila in the Philippines and featured athletes from China, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Siam, and Hong Kong. Thereafter, the games were held every two to four years and eventually began to expand with the inclusion of delegations from India and Indonesia in the 1930s. The last games were once again held in Manila in 1934. Another competition was originally planned for 1938, but it was canceled due to rising political tension between China and Japan.

Another attempt to create a Pan-Asian sports competition got off the ground just as the Far Eastern Championship Games were winding down. The Western Asiatic Games debuted in Delhi, India, in 1934. Designed as a potential replacement for the Far Eastern Championship Games, the Western Asiatic Games featured athletes from India, Ceylon, Afghanistan, and Mandatory Palestine. A second iteration of these games was initially scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv, but plans were eventually scrapped due to political conflict. Like its processor, the Western Asiatic Games also met a premature end.

Interest in a Pan-Asian sports event was revived in the years following World War II (1939–1945). At a 1947 meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Indian representative Guru Dutt Sondhi suggested the idea for what would become the Asian Games. During the 1948 London Olympic Games, Sondhi met with the representatives of other Asian nations and laid the groundwork for the Asian Games. The following year, he and his associates met again in New Delhi and created an organizing body called the Asian Games Federation. Under the direction of the federation, the inaugural Asian Games were originally planned to take place in February 1950. Although planning challenges forced organizers to delay the event’s debut until March 1951, the Asian Games were officially born.

Overview

The first Asian Games were held in New Delhi in March 1951. A total of 489 athletes from Afghanistan, Burma, Ceylon, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand competed in twelve different sports. In a trend that would continue until the 1980s, Japan dominated the games and took home twenty-four gold, twenty-one silver, and fifteen bronze medals. The subsequent opening of the second Asiad in Manila in 1954 formally established a four-year cycle that neatly placed the Asian Games in the middle of the Olympic schedule.

Although well-received, the Asian Games still faced early challenges that threatened the endeavor’s survival. The biggest of these challenges came as a result of clashes with Indonesian president Sukarno in the 1960s. Sukarno successfully campaigned to stage the 1962 Asian Games in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta, but soon created controversy when he banned Israeli and Taiwanese athletes from competing as a way of appeasing his Middle Eastern and Chinese allies. While efforts to move the games in reaction to this decision fell short, Indonesia’s subsequent removal from the IOC led Sukarno to partner with China in creating the Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO). The first GANEFO event took place in Jakarta in 1963. The second was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in direct competition with the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games. When the GANEFO folded shortly thereafter, the Asian Games were cemented as the only permanent Pan-Asian athletic competition.

The Asian Games have been held regularly every four years since that schedule was established in 1954. The specific sports featured at the Asian Games have varied and evolved over time. The original 1951 games featured only a small list of sports that included athletics, basketball, cycling, diving, soccer, swimming, water polo, and weightlifting. Numerous additional sports have been added since that time. Most of the sports featured at the Asian Games align with those in the Olympics and include disciplines such as boxing, gymnastics, and wrestling. The Asian Games also feature a number of unique regional sports. Included among these are sepak takraw and kabaddi. Sepak takraw is a Southeast Asian game played with wicker or rattan balls that is essentially a form of kick volleyball. Kabaddi is an Indian contact sport in which a player from the attacking side attempts to tag as many defensive players as possible while holding his or her breath. Sports are also occasionally dropped from or added to the Asian Games roster. Bodybuilding, for example, was added in 2002 and subsequently dropped after 2006. In 2019, it was announced that cricket would return to the Asiad at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, eSports was introduced as a demonstration sport, though it was uncertain whether it would added as a full-time sport in the future.

The list of nations that participate in the Asian Games has also varied over time. The only countries that have competed in each iteration of the Asiad include Japan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In addition to those located in Asia proper, some Middle Eastern nations, such as Israel, also participate in the games. In 2022, it was announced that the nations of Oceania would also be able to send athletes to compete in some team sports at future Asiads.

Bibliography

“Asian Games: A Brief History.” India Today, 14 Aug. 2018, www.indiatoday.in/sports/asian-games-2018/story/asian-games-a-brief-history-1314241-2018-08-14. Accessed 1 May 2024.

“2022 Asian Games to Include Athletes from Oceania.” USA Today, 4 Mar. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2019/03/04/2022-asian-games-to-include-athletes-from-oceania/39147031. Accessed 1 May 2024.

“History of Asian Games.” Inside the Games, www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1059784/history-of-asian-games. Accessed 1 May 2024.

“Infographic: A Brief History of Asian Games.” Inquirer, 14 Aug. 2018, sports.inquirer.net/314895/infographic-brief-history-asian-games. Accessed 1 May 2024.

Lavalette, Tristan. “Cricket Set for Asian Games Return in 2022 Fueling Olympic Hope for the Sport.” Forbes, 5 Mar. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/tristanlavalette/2019/03/05/cricket-set-for-asian-games-return-in-2022-fueling-olympic-hope-for-the-sport/#11ecbff3444f. Accessed 1 May 2024.

Selvaraj, Jonathan. “eSports And the Asian Games—The Future Is Now.” ESPN, 31 Aug. 2018, www.espn.com/espn/story/‗/id/24541395/esports-asian-games-future-now. Accessed 15 Apr. 2019.

Wade, Stephen. “Asian Games Offer a Few Sports You May Not Recognize. How About Kabaddi, Sepaktakraw, and Wushu?” Associated Press, 21 Sept. 2023, apnews.com/article/asian-games-different-sports-china-e9aaf9f97f22ea9d5c301e3162d1b923. Accessed 1 May 2024.