Sunday, September 21, 2014

17th Asian Games began in Incheon, South Korea

The 17th Asian Games also known as XVII Asiad commenced at Asiad Main Stadium in Incheon, South Korea on 19 September 2104. The theme of the 2014 Asian Games is Meet Asia’s Future.

The games will see participation of about 13000 athletes from 45 nations in different sports categories for over 1300 medals. In 16 days the games will see the participants competing in 439 events spread across 36 sports disciplines. The 17th edition of the game will come to an end on 4 October 2014.

Opening ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games 2014
Generally, the opening ceremonies of any game tells a story of the host country, but this time the opening ceremony was connected to its theme, Meet Asia’s Future. The opening ceremony spoke about Asia (a home of about two-thirds of the world’s population) as a continent, whose countries are divided by oceans. The sum up of the show said that the Asian countries should stay united and strong. It also hailed the bright future of Asia. 

The Games flame was lighted by two little kids although the lamp was carried all its way by greatest athletes of Korea. The Games was opened by the South Korean President Park Geun-Hye. 

The opening ceremony that ran in four parts lasted for three-and-a-half hours. It was directed by Im Kwon-Taek and Jang Jin depicting Asia’s Past, Present and Future. Some of the topics included during the opening ceremony were Asia long time ago, Asia meeting through the sea, Asia as family and friends and Asia as on and future joining with today. The show was participated by several performers and the last piece of the show was by Gangnam style star DJ Psy. 

Indian contingent in the 17th Asian Games 
The Indian contingent for the games consisted of 516 athletes participating in 28 sports. The flag bearer of Indian side during the opening ceremony of the games was Sardar Singh, the captain of Men’s Hockey team of India.
In India the Asian Games will be telecasted by Ten Sports TV network in India. To greet and wish the Indian athletes participating in Incheon by Indian huge fan following, the channel has come out with #SalaamIndia.

With the opening of the games, Indian shooter Jitu Rai clinched India’s first gold, which was the second medal for the country at the Incheon Asian Games. 

Shooter Jitu Rai clinched India's first Gold in the Men's 50-metre Pistol event, which was second medal of the Incheon Asian Games. India’s account was opened by Shooter Shweta Chaudhary who won a Bronze in the 10-metre Air Pistol event

About Asian Games 
The Asian Games also known as Asiad is a Pan-continental multi-sport event. It is organised every four years and is participated by 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. But Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) started organising the games from 1982 Games, after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation. The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
The last Games of 2010 were held in Guangzhou, China from 12 November to 27 November 2010. In the previous edition, China with total 416 medals (199 Gold, 119 Silver and 98 Bronze) was top ranked. However, India with 65 medals (14 Gold, 17 Silver and 34 Bronze) stood at the sixth position.

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