JAKARTA: The 18th Asian Games 2018 will start with a colourful and vibrant opening ceremony at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium here on Saturday (today). More than 10,000 athletes and 5,000 officials from 45 countries, including Pakistan, will participate in the Asian mega event. Forty sports, 67 disciplines and 463 events will be held with seventy-six venues — 53 for competition and 23 for training — to be used. The Games will run until September 2. For the first time, the Asian Games will be co-hosted in two cities: the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, which is hosting the Games for the first time since 1962, and Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province, so as to accommodate all branches of sports. Palembang is a 47-minute flight from Jakarta. The sporting events will be held in and around the two cities, including venues in Bandung and province of West Java. Originally scheduled to be hosted by Vietnam in Hanoi, the country withdrew its bid, based on economic considerations. Hereupon, Indonesia offered to hold the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia. The Asian Games are the oldest and most prestigious event on the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) calendar, dating back to the inaugural edition in 1951. Like the Olympic Games, they are held every four years. The Asian Games follow the sports programme of the Olympics, with athletics and swimming as core sports, as well as featuring disciplines which reflect the diverse sporting culture of the continent such as South East Asia’s sepak takraw, South Asia’s kabaddi and East Asia’s wushu. The first edition of the Asian Games was held in New Delhi in March 1951. The aftermath of the Second World War meant Japan were barred from the 1948 Olympics in London. They were not invited to the founding meeting of the Asian Games Federation in 1949 but the country was allowed to compete in the inaugural Asian Games. South Korea did not participate, however, due to the Korean War, which had started the previous year and would last until 1953. The Games were officially opened by Indian President Rajendra Prasad at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium. A total of 489 athletes from 11 National Olympic Committees competed in 12 sports. Japan topped the table with 24 gold, 21 silver and 15 bronze medals. A total of 169 medals were awarded. This is the second time that Indonesia is hosting the Asian Games. The first one were held in Jakarta in 1962, under President Soekarno. Politics were playing a big part behind the scenes as, succumbing to pressure from Arab countries and China, the Indonesian Government refused to issue visas to the delegations from Israel and Taiwan. Nevertheless, a total number of 1,460 athletes from 12 countries competed with badminton making its debut as one of 13 sports. Japan topped the table with 73 gold, 65 silver and 23 bronze medals. A total of 381 medals were awarded. The 17th and most recent edition of the Asian Games took place in Incheon in September and October 2014. It was the third time South Korea had staged the Olympic Council of Asia’s showpiece event, following in the footsteps of 1986 hosts Seoul and 2002 hosts Busan. A total of 9,501 athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees competed in 36 sports. Three spotted seal siblings were the official mascots of the Games. Known as Barame, Chumuro and Vichuon, meaning wind, dance and light, they were chosen as symbolic to the future peace between North Korea and South Korea. The Games’ slogan was “Diversity Shines Here”. They were officially opened by South Korea President Park Geun-hye at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium. China topped the table with 151 gold, 109 silver and 85 bronze medals. A total of 1,454 medals were awarded. The official logo for the 18th Asian Games is a colorful circle taken from the shape of the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, and named the ‘Energy of Asia’, depicting the strengthening spirit of the Games, participated by multicultural nations shining for all the world to see. The Games also introduces three mascots namely Bhin Bhin, Atung and Kaka. The mascots represent three aspects of these competitive Games, being: Strategy, Speed and Strength. Each mascot wears special attire inspired by the traditional textiles from Papua, Jakarta and Palembang. Bhin Bhin comes in the image of the Cendrawasih or Bird of Paradise (mainly found in Papua), Atung is a Bawean Deer, symbol of speed, and Kaka is a Rhino representing strength. Participation of Pakistan with 351-member contingent: Pakistan’s contingent consists of 351 members: athletes are 216 men and 39 women, while officials are 96. Male players will participate in 35 events of various disciplines and women in 15 events. In all, Pakistan has won 199 medals at the Asian Games starting from 1951: 44 gold, 64 silver and 91 bronze medals. At the 2010 Asian Games at Guangzhou, China, Pakistan won three gold (field hockey, women’s cricket and squash), two silver (squash and wushu) and three bronze (men’s cricket, snooker and kabaddi) medals to score 20th position. In the last Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea in 2014, Pakistan manage one gold (women’s cricket), one silver (field hockey) and three bronze medals (kabaddi, boxing and wushu) to finish at 23rd position with five medals. It is interesting to note that the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has sponsored 245 athletes and officials while 106 athletes and officials are being sponsored by their respective national federations. Pakistan will be participating in 35 disciplines – archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, bridge, equestrian, fencing, football, golf, gymnastics, handball, hockey, ju-jitsu, kabaddi, karate, kurash, paragliding, pencak silat, rowing, rugby, sailing, sepaktakraw, shooting, soft tennis, sport climbing, squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu. Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president Lt Gen Syed Arif Hasan told Daily Times on Friday that there was no serious chance of the country’s sportsperson winning medals in the Asian Games and without focusing on the grassroots levels, the standards of sports in the country could not be improved. Arif said that may be in some disciplines Pakistani athletes could win medals, but one-month training which they got was insufficient to compete in a mega event such as the Asian Games. “In other countries, athletes prepare and train throughout the year for such big events and produce impressive results,” he added. Realistically, Pakistan only has an outside chance of winning a medal, if any. The national hockey team have not been doing well in recent months and are no medal hope but in sports such as kabbadi, athletics, ju-jitsu, wushu, weightlifting and wrestling, Pakistan players could spring a surprise and fetch a medal or two. The POA president emphasised the need to focus on sports at the grassroots levels, especially in schools and colleges. “That will groom our athletes from an early age and will help in winning medals in future.” Published in Daily Times, August 18th 2018.