Asian Games 2014

The Asian Games, or the Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event that is held every four years similar to the Olympic games. However, it is participated by athletes only from Asia. Initially the games, were governed over by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) which was broken up in 1982. Since 1982, the games have been regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which replaced the defunct AGF. The Asian Games are officially recognized by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and are widely regarded as the largest multi-sport event second only to the Olympic games.

The 2014 Incheon Asian Games were the 17th edition of the pan-Asian multi-sport event. The Games were held in the city of Incheon in South Korea from 19th September to 4th October 2014. An estimated 9,501 athletes participated in the Games from 45 Asian countries. Overall, 439 events were contested from 36 sports in the games spanning 16 days, and a few events having commenced even before. The medals tally for the Asian Games 2014 was led by China who won a total of 345 medals.

Motto

The Games had the motto of “Diversity Shines Here” which emphasized that the XVII Asiad was not to be seen just as a sporting event but as a festival that fosters regional harmony among countries from all over Asia. It conveyed the significance of the rich diversity in Asia, and how it was interconnected through the spheres of history, cultures and religion.

Venues

During the entire course of the 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014, a total of 49 competition venues and 48 training facilities were made use of. The prime venue of the Asiad was the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium, which was where the opening ceremony, including the oaths and the lighting of the torch had taken place. It was one of the ten sports venues that was constructed for the 2014 Asian Games. It has a capacity of 61, 074 and the total project cost of the stadium was around US$400 million.

The venues were spread over eight districts and one county in Incheon, while some of the venues were also outside of Incheon, notably in the Gyeonggi Province and one venue each at Seoul and Chungju.

Games

Of the 36 sports contested, 28 of them were the ones that were also played at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In addition, the Asian Games eight more games were contested which are - baseball, ten-pin bowling, cricket, kabaddi, karate, sepak takraw, squash and wushu.

However there exclusions too along with the numerous inclusions like roller sport, board games, cue sports, softball, dancesport and dragon sport were excluded, which had been held in the previous editions.

The sports of compound archery, mixed relay triathlon, judo team events were played for the first time in the history of the Asian Games.

Incheon Asian Games Medals Tally

China prevailed in the medals tally with an impressive haul of 345 medals, which included 151 gold, 109 silver and 85 bronze medals. China was followed by the host nation who won 228 medals, 79 of them being gold. The hosts were closely trailed by Japan who won 200 medals, with 47 being gold.

Records

Numerous records were established and broken in the 2014 Asian Games at Incheon. Some of the most eye-catching one were in men’s 100m by Qatar’s Femi Seun Ogunode with 9.93 (+0.4 m/s), China’s Zhao Qinggang in Javelin throw with 89.15m while in women’s 800m Margarita Matsko with 1:59:02 and China’s Zhang Li in Javelin throw with 65.47m.