After being postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 19th edition of the Asian Games will open in the Chinese city of Hangzhou on Saturday, with athletes from across the world's largest continent looking to throw down the gauntlet before the 2024 Olympics.
The opening ceremony, billed as an eco-friendly affair with no use of fireworks, will start at 8 p.m. Saturday at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. Organizers say the Asiad, which wraps up Oct. 8, will feature 11,970 athletes from 45 nations, making it the largest in the competition's history dating to 1951. They will vie for 481 gold medals in 61 disciplines in 40 sports.
This photo from Sept. 18, 2023, shows Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou, China, the venue for the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games. (Yonhap)
This photo from Sept. 18, 2023, shows Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou, China, the venue for the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games. (Yonhap)
South Korea has contributed to that end, as it has sent 867 athletes as part of its Asiad-record delegation of 1,140. South Korea will be represented in 39 out of 40 sports, as it seeks to redeem itself after a disappointing showing at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
South Korea finished in third place with 49 gold medals, its fewest total since 1982. South Korea had finished ahead of Japan for second place at every Asiad from 1998 to 2014, and that streak was snapped in Indonesia.
In Hangzhou, South Korea has set out to grab 40 to 50 gold medals for third place, behind the host country China and Japan.
South Korea will be led by some of its brightest sporting stars, including Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in, two-time world swimming championships medalist Hwang Sun-woo, and ascendant high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok, the 2022 world silver medalist. In badminton, An Se-young, world No. 1 in the women's singles, is coming in as the new world champion and holder of nine international titles this year. Lee Sang-hyeok, or "Faker," widely regarded as the greatest "League of Legends" player of all time, will try to live up to his name here as esports make their Asian Games debut.
A light show takes place around Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou, China, on Sept. 21, 2023, two days before the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games. (Yonhap)
A light show takes place around Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou, China, on Sept. 21, 2023, two days before the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games. (Yonhap)
The program of 40 sports includes more conventional Olympic sports, such as athletics and swimming, and some novel events, including breaking and roller skating. Others, such as dragon boat racing, sepaktakraw, wushu, kabaddi, jujitsu and kurash add regional flavors to the competition. Disciplines for the "mind sports" include chess, bridge and Go, better known as baduk in South Korea.
The one-year delay has turned this Asiad into a sneak preview for the Paris Olympics next year. Nine sports in Hangzhou, including archery, artistic swimming, sailing and tennis, will have Olympic qualification spots up for grabs.
North Korea will have nearly 200 athletes in Hangzhou, as it emerges out of years of isolation from the global sporting scene.
South Korean athletes and officials for the 19th Asian Games pose for photos after their welcome ceremony at the athletes' village in Hangzhou, China, on Sept. 21, 2023. (Yonhap)
South Korean athletes and officials for the 19th Asian Games pose for photos after their welcome ceremony at the athletes' village in Hangzhou, China, on Sept. 21, 2023. (Yonhap)
North Korea skipped the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, citing COVID-19 concerns. The International Olympic Committee subsequently banned North Korea from competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The suspension ended at the end of last year, allowing North Korea to participate in the Asian Games here.
At the previous Asiad, the Koreas marched together under the Unification Flag at the opening ceremony, and had joint teams in rowing, canoeing and women's basketball. The state of inter-Korean relations is much different now, with the prevailing cordiality then having given way to hostility and tension.
Source: Yonhap News Agency