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History of Asian Games tells us that way back in 1951, when the Games were first held in the Indian capital New Delhi, there were only 11 participating countries in the event, competing in a mere six sports categories.
55 years hence, the event has achieved the distinction of being world's second largest sports event, surpassed in grandeur only by the Olympics.
The history of Asian Games reveals that the Games were an initiative of the Asian Athletic Federation (AAF), formed in 1949, after the Second World War. It was an effort to initiate a peace process between Asian nations, making sports the binding factor.
However, after three successful Asian Games, the federation started having disagreements over a variety of issues, including the participation of the Republic of China and Israel. Eventually, quite a few nations backed off from hosting the Games due to various reasons.
Post these contentious episodes, the Olympic committees of member nations reconstituted the AAF as the Olympic Council of Asia. This OCA has been looking into the organization of the Asian Games since 1986.
Nevertheless, even after this entire hullabaloo, the spirit of the Asian Games never faded out and the event has been religiously held every four years since 1951.
According to Asian Games history, the countries that participated in the very first Games were Afghanistan, Burma, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The teams from these countries competed in athletics, aquatics, basketball, cycling, football and weightlifting. Japan were the winners of the very first Asian Games.
As per the Asian Games history, athletes from Japan and China have dominated the proceedings in the events of the Games, bagging numerous medals and emerging as the standout performers.
Bangkok is the only city to have hosted the quadrennial event four times. The last Asian Games were held in the South Korean city of Busan. That event is still touted to be the largest Asian Games ever. It had 44 teams fighting it out in 38 sports.
However, the history of Asian Games will soon be rewritten. The latest version of the Games will be bigger and better, with 45 participating countries competing in 39 sports. With the Doha Asian Games lurching round the corner, it's time to revisit history books.
To know more about Asian Games 2006, Doha, check the following links:
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