Asian Games: Another grand sporting event!

The largest sports event, which brings together the top sportsmen and sportswomen of our continent has just begun. This year the Asian Games, also called Asiad, is going through its 15th venture and is being hosted by Qatar (Doha, is the capital city of Qatar). The Games commenced on November 27, with football matches but the official opening ceremony took place on December 1.

The Games will go on until December 15. We are sure that you are anxiously waiting to see our Sri Lankan sports stars display their skills in front of the whole world, and bringing pride and glory to our motherland. The significance of the Asian Games and how it came into being may be something you would like to know. So, let's take a brief look at how these Games commenced. The Asian Games owes its origin to small Asian multi-sport competitions. Today this is an event which is held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games are regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) under the supervision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Awarding medals for the winners commenced in 1950.

It was originally called the Far Eastern Championship Games. This was first created to show unity and cooperation among the Empire of Japan, Philippine Islands and the Republic of China. The first Games were held in Manila in 1913. Other East Asian nations began to participate in the Games over the years. But, because of World War II the Games were discontinued in 1938.In February 1949, the Asian Athletic Federation was officially formed and they used the name Asian Games Federation for the event. It was decided by them to hold the first Asian Games in 1951 in New Delhi, the capital of India. They also decided that the Games would be regularly held once every four years.

This year too, they will have events such as Aquatic sports, Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Billiards, Snooker, Body building, Bowling, Chess and Cycling. The corporate identity of the 16th Asian Games Doha 2006, has been designed to reflect the host city, modern and progressive, but based firmly on cultural traditions and beliefs.

The Olympic Council of Asia has established the Asian Indoor Games, a competition that will take place every two years, which will be composed mostly of sports with TV broadcasting potential and which are not included in the Asian Games and Winter Asian Games programmes. They will also not include Olympic Sports. The sports programme will comprise six to eight exciting sports including extreme sports, aerobics, acrobatics, indoor athletics, dance sports, hockey, fin swimming, and 25 metres short course swimming. Last year, the first Asian Indoor Games were held in Bangkok, Thailand.

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The venues of the Asian Games held so far...

* 1951 - 1st Asian Games, New Delhi, India

* 1954 - 2nd Asian Games, Manila, Philippines

* 1958 - 3rd Asian Games, Tokyo, Japan

* 1962 - 4th Asian Games, Jakarta, Indonesia

* 1966 - 5th Asian Games, Bangkok, Thailand

* 1970 - 6th Asian Games, Bangkok, Thailand

(Originally hosted by Seoul, South Korea)

* 1974 - 7th Asian Games, Tehran, Iran

* 1978 - 8th Asian Games, Bangkok, Thailand

(Originally hosted by Karachi, Pakistan)

* 1982 - 9th Asian Games, New Delhi, India

* 1986 - 10th Asian Games, Seoul, South Korea

* 1990 - 11th Asian Games, Beijing, China

* 1994 - 12th Asian Games, Hiroshima, Japan

* 1998 - 13th Asian Games, Bangkok, Thailand

* 2002 - 14th Asian Games, Busan, South Korea

* 2006 - 15th Asian Games, Doha, Qatar.

The 16th Asian Games are scheduled to be held in

* 2010 - 16th Asian Games, Guangzhou, China.

The medals in gold, silver and bronze

The medals for the Doha Asian Games have the official mascot Orry carrying the Asian Games torch high as he runs into the foreground on one side, and the Doha 2006 logo inset into the Asian sun on the other side. A traditional Qatari pattern is emblazoned on a burgundy ribbon. The front of the medal incorporates the graphic elements of the Games and the proud history of the nation of Qatar, while the back of the medal will show the bond between Qatar and the rest of the Asian continent. Orry runs with the torch in front of the Zubara fort, an important cultural landmark for Qatar. Some 2,950 medals have been made for the Games.

Compiled by Aravinda Dassanayake