The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every fourth year 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. 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 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Games received names like First Asiad and 1951 Asiad. A total of 489 athletes representing 11 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 57 events from eight sports and discipline. The Games was the successor of the Far Eastern Games and the revival of the Western Asiatic Games. The 1951 Asiad were originally scheduled to be held in 1950, but postponed until 1951 due to delays in preparations. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Games Federation was formally established in Delhi, with Delhi unanimously announced as the first host city of the Asian Games.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams at these events. It plays with the name of Team India. It also acts as the Indian Commonwealth Games Association, responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Commonwealth Games.
The 9th Asian Games were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of the Olympic Council of Asia. Delhi joined Bangkok as the cities to host multiple editions of the Asian Games up to this point. Later, Jakarta and Doha would enter this group.
The 2006 South Asian Games were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 18 August to 28 August 2006, in the Sugathadasa Stadium with more than 2000 sportspersons competing in the record 20 disciplines of Sports.
The National Games of India consist of various disciplines in which athletes from the different states of India participate against each other. The country's first few Olympic Games, now renamed as National Games, were held in North India (Delhi, Allahabad, Patiala, Madras, Calcutta and Bombay.
Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, also known as Sarusajai Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Lokhra locality, Guwahati, Assam, India. Seating 21,600 people, it is the home ground of NorthEast United FC and is used for athletic events. The stadium was a host venue for the 2007 National Games of India, the 2016 South Asian Games, and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The Asian Games Federation (AGF) was the governing body of sports in Asia from 1949 to 1982. The federation was disbanded on 16 November 1982 in New Delhi and succeeded by the Olympic Council of Asia. The AGF was responsible for the organisation of the Asian Games from 1951 to 1982. The Federation was established on 13 February 1949, in a meeting held in Patiala House in New Delhi.
The 2010 South Asian Games, officially the XI South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event that took place from 29 January to 8 February 2010 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This was the third time that the Bangladeshi capital hosted the South Asian Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three times.
The 2003 Afro-Asian Games, officially known as the First Afro-Asian Games or I Afro-Asian Games and unofficially known as the Inaugural Afro-Asian Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Hyderabad, India, from 24 October to 1 November 2003.
India is a member of the South Asian Zone of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and has participated in the Asian Games since their inception in 1951. The Indian Olympic Association, established in 1927, and recognised in the same year by the International Olympic Committee, is the National Olympic Committee for India.
Randhir Singh is an Indian sports administrator and former Olympic-level trap and skeet shooter. Singh is one of India's most influential sports administrators and is noted for his wide-ranging international connections. He has held several positions in both Indian and international sports governing bodies, and also had a successful shooting career before retiring from the sport in 1994. Singh began his sports administration career in 1984, while he was still competing as a shooter.
The 2013 South Asian Games, officially the XII South Asian Games, was a scheduled multi-sport event to take place in Mizoram and Shillong, India. With this edition of the Games, India became the second country to host the Games three times, after Bangladesh. It was also the first time that Delhi hosted the Games. The Games witnessed a change in the original host country, and faced delays which pushed back the conduct of the Games by several months.
Handball in India is controlled by the Handball Association India. It was founded by Jagat Singh Lohan from Rohtak, Haryana, who was an alumnus of YMCA College of Physical Education of Madras. His efforts during Munich Olympics helped in establishing HFI. The member states were Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Vidharbha and Jammu and Kashmir. He was also elected as first secretary general of Handball Federation of India.
Field Hockey at the 2016 South Asian Games was scheduled to be held in Guwahati, India from 10 – 15 February 2016.
Badminton at the 2016 South Asian Games was held at the Multipurpose Hall SAI–SAG Centre, NEIGRIHMS Indoor Stadium under North-Eastern Hill University in Shillong, India from 6 February to 10 February 2016.
Wushu at the 2016 South Asian Games were held in Guwahati, India from 10 to 15 February 2016.
The 2019 South Asian Games, officially the XIII South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event which was originally slated to be held from 9 to 18 March 2019 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. However, the dates were postponed and the event was held from 1–10 December 2019, coincidentally at the same time as the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. The new dates were confirmed at the South Asian Olympic Council Executive Board meeting in Bangkok on 1 March 2019. The Dasarath Stadium hosted the opening ceremony along with the men's football tournament, with the stadium's renovation after the 2015 earthquake completed in under 10 months with an increased capacity of 20,000, along with the closing ceremony on 10 December.
Football at the 2018 Asian Games was held from 14 August to 1 September 2018 in Indonesia. One of the host cities, Palembang, hosted the women's event, while the men's matches are played in Bekasi, Cibinong, Cikarang, and Soreang.
The 2024 South Asian Games, officially the XIV South Asian Games, will be a major multi-sport event which will be held in Pakistan,and will have Lahore, the capital of Punjab province as main host city. The cities of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Islamabad and Sialkot will give support to Lahore hosting some sports. The Games were scheduled to be held in March 2023, but later postponed to March 2024 by SAOC members at the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This will mark the third time that Pakistan has hosted the South Asian Games since 1989 and 2004, and the first time that Pakistan has hosted the event outside of Islamabad.
