Asian Games
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The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad,^{[clarification needed]} is a multi-sport event held every four years among 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. Since the 1982 Games they have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation.^[1] The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.^[2][3]

In its history, nine nations have hosted the Asian Games. 46 nations have participated in the Games, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in 1974.

The last Asian Games was held at Guangzhou, People's Republic of China last 12 November – 27 November 2010. The next Games will be held at Incheon, South Korea.

History[link]

Prior formation[link]

Before the Asian Games were held, there was a gathering known as the Far Eastern Games which was first mooted in 1912 between Empire of Japan, the Philippine Islands and China. The first Games were then held in Manila in 1913 and ten further gatherings were held until 1934. However, against the backdrop of the second Sino-Japanese War in 1934, in the face of Japan's insistence on including Manchu Empire as competitor nation in the Games, China announced its withdrawal from participation. The Games scheduled for 1938 were cancelled and the organization was discontinued thereafter.

Formation[link]

After World War II, a number of Asian countries became independent. Many of the newly independent Asian countries wanted to see a new type of competition where Asian dominance would not be shown by violence but would be strengthened by mutual understanding. During the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, a conversation between sportsmen from China and the Philippines raised the idea of restoring the Far Eastern Games. However, the Indian International Olympic Committee representative Guru Dutt Sondhi thought that the restoration of the Games would not be sufficient to show the spirit of unity and level of achievement in Asian sports, so proposed to sports leaders the idea of having discussions about holding a wholly new competition — the Asian Games. This gave rise to the agreement to form the Asian Athletic Federation. A preparatory committee was set up to draft the charter for this new body. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Athletic Federation was formally inaugurated in New Delhi, alongside the name Asian Games Federation, with New Delhi announced as the first host city of the Asian Games which were scheduled to be held in 1950.^[4][5]

Crisis, reorganization, expansion[link]

First Asian Games Opening Ceremony

Starting in 1962, the Games were hit by several crises. First, the host country Indonesia, refused to permit the participation of Israel and the Republic of China due to political and religious issues. As a result, the IOC removed its sponsorship of the Games and terminated Indonesia as one of the IOC members.^[6] The Asian Football Confederation (AFC),^[7] International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), also removed their recognition of the Games.^[8][9]

In 1970, South Korea dropped its plan to host the Games declined due to national security crisis, however the main reason was due to financial crisis, forcing the previous host Thailand to administer the Games again in Bangkok using funds transferred from South Korea.^[10] Prior to the Games, Japan was asked to host the Games, but declined due to Expo '70 in Osaka.^[11] This edition also marked the first time the Games have a television broadcasting throughout the world.^[12] In 1974, the Games formally recognized the participation of China, North Korea and Mongolia. Israel was allowed to participate despite the opposition from Arab World, while Taiwan was permitted to take part despite its status was abolished in general meeting on November 16, 1973 by Games Federation.^[13]

The last is 1978, Pakistan dropped its plan to host the Games in 1975 due to financial crisis and political issues.^[14] Thailand offered to help and the Games were once again held in Bangkok. However, once again, like in 1962, Taiwan and Israel were refused the participation by Games Federation, amid political issues and security fears.^[15] Several governing bodies protested against the ban, like IAAF, threatened to bar the participating players from 1980 Summer Olympics,^[16] this caused several teams to withdraw prior to the Games.^[17]

Following this series of crises, the National Olympic Committee in Asia decided to revise the constitution of the Asian Games Federation. A new association, named the Olympic Council of Asia, was created in November 1981 with the exclusion of Israel.^[18] India was already scheduled to host the 1982 Games and the OCA decided not to drop the old AGF timetable. The OCA formally supervised the Games starting with the 1986 Asian Games in South Korea.^[19] In the succeeding Games, Taiwan (Republic of China) was re-admitted, but was forced by the People's Republic of China to compete under the name Chinese Taipei.^[20]

In 1994, the Games were first time included the nations of former Republics of the Soviet Union of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Also to note it is the first time that the Games were held outside the capital city of host country.^[21] However, Iraq was suspended from the Games due to Gulf War in 1990, while North Korea boycotted the Games due to relation problems. It is also marred by the death of Nepalese delegation Nareshkumar Adhikari during the Game's opening ceremony.^[22] The 1998 Games marked the fourth time held in Bangkok, Thailand in history. Differ to December 6 as opening ceremony date to previous three occasions on December 9, the Games were closing on same day all time, December 20, while all opened by Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Future changes[link]

The number of competition events is scheduled to shrink down to just 35 sports at the 2014 Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea. 2014 will also see the last Games hosted in even-numbered year, as the Olympic Council of Asia pushed the subsequent Games to just one year ahead of the Olympic Games. This means the 18th Asian Games which were originally planned for 2018 will be pushed to 2019.

Participation[link]

2006 Asian Games

All 45 members affiliated to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) are eligible to take part in the Games. In history, 46 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have sent competitors to the Games. Israel has been excluded from the Games since 1976, the reason cited as being due to security reasons.^[23] Israel requested to participate in the 1982 Games, but the request was rejected by the organizers due to incident in 1972 Summer Olympics.^[24] Israel is now a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC).

Due to its continuing ambiguous political status, Taiwan has participated in the Games under the flag of Chinese Taipei since 1990. Macau is allowed to compete as one of the NOCs in Asian Games, despite not being recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for participation in the Olympic Games.

In 2007, the President of OCA, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, rejected the proposal to allow Australia to participate in the Games. He stated that while Australia would add good value to the Asian Games, it would be unfair to the other NOCs in Oceania.^[25]

Only seven countries, namely India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand have competed in all editions of the games.

Sports[link]

44 sports were presented in Asian Games history, including 2010 Games in Guangzhou.

Medal count[link]

Of the 46 National Olympic Committees participating throughout the history of the Games, 43 nations have won at least a single medal in the competition, leaving three nations: Bhutan, Maldives and Timor-Leste yet to win a single medal. 34 nations have won at least a single gold medal, while Japan and China became the only two nations in history to emerge as overall champions.

Samsung MVP award[link]

Samsung introduced the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in Asian Games since 1998 Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Below is the list of winners:

Year	Athlete	Sport (Discipline)	References
1998	Koji Ito	Athletics	[26]
2002	Kosuke Kitajima	Aquatics	[26]
2006	Park Tae-Hwan	Aquatics	[27]
2010	Lin Dan	Badminton	[28]

List of Asian Games[link]

Host countries of the games through 2014. Red spot denotes the city of the Games.

Year	Games	Host	Dates	Nations	Athletes	Sports	Events	Ref
1951	I	New Delhi, India	March 4–11	11	489	6	57	[29]
1954	II	Manila, Philippines	May 1–9	19	970	8	76	[30]
1958	III	Tokyo, Japan	May 28 – June 1	16	1,820	13	97	[31]
1962	IV	Jakarta, Indonesia	August 24 – September 4	12	1,460	13	88	[32]
1966	V	Bangkok, Thailand	December 9–20	16	1,945	14	143	[33]
1970	VI	Bangkok, Thailand	August 24 – September 4	16	2,400	13	135	[34]
1974	VII	Tehran, Iran	September 1–16	19	3,010	16	202	[35]
1978	VIII	Bangkok, Thailand	December 9–20	19	3,842	19	201	[36]
1982	IX	New Delhi, India	November 19 – December 4	23	3,411	21	147	[37]
1986	X	Seoul, South Korea	September 20 – October 5	27	4,839	25	270	[38]
1990	XI	Beijing, China	September 22 – October 7	36	6,122	29	310	[39]
1994	XII	Hiroshima, Japan	October 2–16	42	6,828	34	337	[40]
1998	XIII	Bangkok, Thailand	December 6–20	41	6,554	36	376	[41]
2002	XIV	Busan, South Korea	September 29 – October 14	44	7,711	38	419	[42]
2006	XV	Doha, Qatar	December 1–15	45	9,520	39	424	[43]
2010	XVI	Guangzhou, China	November 12–27	45	9,704	42	476	[44]
2014	XVII	Incheon, South Korea	September 19 – October 4	Future event
2019	XVIII			Future event
2023	XIX			Future event

See also[link]

Asian Games portal

• List of IOC country codes

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Asian Games

• Olympic Council of Asia: Games

v t e Association of National Olympic Committees All-African Games Asian Games Pan American Games Africa ANOCA – Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa Americas PASO – Pan American Sports Organization Asia OCA – Olympic Council of Asia Europe EOC – European Olympic Committees Oceania ONOC – Oceania National Olympic Committees

Ma Long at the 2009 World Championships in Yokohama, Japan.
Personal information
Nationality	China
Playing style	Righted-handed, shakehand grip
Highest ranking	1 (Current)[1]
Born	(1988-10-20) October 20, 1988 (age 23)[2] Liaoning, China
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[3]
Weight	70 kg (150 lb; 11 st)[3]
Medal record Men's table tennis Competitor for  China World Championships Gold 2012 Dortmund Team Bronze 2011 Rotterdam Singles Gold 2011 Rotterdam Doubles Gold 2010 Moscow Team Bronze 2009 Yokohama Singles Silver 2009 Yokohama Doubles Gold 2008 Guangzhou Team Gold 2006 Bremen Team World Cup Gold 2011 Magdeburg Team Gold 2010 Dubai Team Bronze 2009 Moscow Singles Gold 2009 Linz Team Bronze 2008 Liege Singles Asian Championships Gold 2012 Macau Singles Bronze 2012 Macau Doubles Gold 2012 Macau Team Gold 2009 Lucknow Singles Gold 2009 Lucknow Doubles Gold 2009 Lucknow Mixed Doubles Gold 2009 Lucknow Team Silver 2007 Yangzhou Singles Gold 2007 Yangzhou Doubles Gold 2007 Yangzhou Team Bronze 2005 Jeju-do Mixed Doubles Gold 2005 Jeju-dаккакo Team

Ma Long (simplified Chinese: 马龙; traditional Chinese: 馬龍; pinyin: Mǎ Lóng; born October 20, 1988 in Anshan City, Liaoning Province, China) is a male table tennis player.^[2] He is now ranked 1° as of January, 2012 in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).^[1] Ma Long has won a record 5 ITTF Pro Tour tournaments in a row. In this streak he has won 35 sets in a row. He is the only player to win a tournament without dropping a set (Swedish open 2011.).

Equipment[link]

Ma Long currently uses a custom made DHS PG-7 FL with a DHS Skyline III National Version (blue sponge, black) for his forehand and a Butterfly Tenergy 05(red) for his backhand

Career records[link]

Singles (as of March 4, 2012)^[4]

• World Championships: SF (2009, 11).
• World Cup appearances: 2. Record: 3rd (2008, 09).
• Pro Tour winner (13): Kuwait, German Open 2007; Korea, Singapore Open 2008; Danish, Kuwait, China (Suzhou), English Open 2009; German Open 2010; China (Suzhou), Austrian, Swedish Open 2011; Hungarian Open 2012.
  Runner-up (6): German Open 2005; Japan, Swedish Open 2007; UAE, China (Shenzen) Open 2011; Slovenian Open 2012.
• Pro Tour Grand Finals appearances: 5. Record: winner (2008, 2009, 2011); SF (2007).
• Asian Games: winner (2010).
• Asian Championships: winner (2009, 12); runner-up (2007).
• Asian Cup: 1sкккп (2008, 09, 11).
• World Junior Championships: winner (2004).

Men's Doubles

• World Championships: winner (2011); runner-up (2009).
• Pro Tour winner (11): China (Harbin) Open 2005; Slovenian Open 2006; Swedish Open 2007; Danish, Qatar, English Open 2009; Kuwait, German Open 2010; China (Shenzen), Austrian Open 2011; Slovenian Open 2012.
  Runner-up (7): China (Shenzhen) Open 2005; Singapore Open 2006; China (Shenzhen) Open 2007; Qatar, Korea Open 2008; Kuwait Open 2009; China (Suzhou) Open 2011.
• Pro Tour Grand Finals appearances: 3. Record: winner (2006); runner-up (2011); SF (2007).
• Asian Games: SF (2006).
• Asian Championships: winner (2007, 09); SF (2012).

Mixed Doubles

• Asian Games: QF (2006).
• Asian Championships: winner (2009); SF (2005).

Team

• World Championships: 1st (2006, 08, 10).
• World Team Cup: 1st (2009, 10, 11).
• Asian Games: 1st (2006, 10).
• Asian Championships: 1st (2005, 07, 09, 12).

Other

• Winning Streak: He went unbeaten for 40 single matches by December 2011.^[5]

References[link]

• Career profile of Ma Long Table Tennis Master

This biographical article relating to a People's Republic of China table tennis figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Nationality	Japan
Playing style	Right-handed, shakehand grip
Highest ranking	29 (November 2010)[1]
Born	(1991-04-11) April 11, 1991 (age 21)[2] Nanao-shi, Ishikawa, Japan
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	57 kg (130 lb; 9.0 st)
Medal record Men's table tennis Competitor for  Japan World Championships Bronze 2010 Moscow Team

Kenta Matsudaira (松平 健太, Matsudaira Kenta^?) (born April 11, 1991) is a Japanese table tennis player. Winner of 2006 World Junior Championships in boys' singles.^[3] He was ranked as the number one junior player in the world.^[4] Kenta has supposedly one of the world's best serves. He serves either a regular tomahawk service or a backhand tomahawk service.^[5]

Kenta became well known after a near upset vs Olympic champion Ma Lin in the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships using his virtually unseen before, advanced tomahawk serves, compact speed technique, and dynamic backhand control. Kenta won 3 straight games from a 1-3 deficit and held the lead at 4-1 in the seventh. (Kenta lost the set 11-9.)^[6]

References[link]

This biographical article relating to a Japanese table tennis figure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e