The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental 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. The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the Olympic Games, first held in modern times in 1896 in Athens, Greece and inspired by the Ancient Olympic Games, one of a number of such events held in antiquity. Most modern multi-sports events have the same basic structure. Games are held over the course of several days in and around a "host city", which changes for each competition. Countries send national teams to each competition, consisting of individual athletes and teams that compete in a wide variety of sports. Athletes or teams are awarded gold, silver or bronze medals for first, second and third place respectively. Each game is generally held every four years, though some are annual competitions.
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in OFC, joined AFC in 2006. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, both territories of the United States, are also AFC members that are geographically in Oceania. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) was the section of AFC who managed women's association football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968 in a meeting involving Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1986 ALFC merged with AFC.
The India national football team represents India in international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The team is affiliated to FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Indonesia national football team represents Indonesia in international association football. It was the first Asian team to participate in the FIFA World Cup, particularly in the 1938 edition as Dutch East Indies. The 6–0 loss to eventual finalists Hungary in the first round remains the nation's only appearance in the World Cup. Thus, Indonesia holds the World Cup record as the team with the fewest matches played (1) and one of the teams with the fewest goals scored (0).
The Pakistan national football team represents Pakistan association football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 1948 joining the Asian Football Confederation and its national team debuted in 1950.
The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supervision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
The 2006 Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the games. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games. The city will host the games again in 2030.
The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes representing 20 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games. The program featured competitions in 13 different sports encompassing 97 events, including four non-Olympic sports, judo, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. Four of these competition sports – field hockey, table tennis, tennis and volleyball – were introduced for the first time in the Asian Games.
The 1962 Asian Games also known as the 4th Asian Games, IV Asiad, and Jakarta 1962, was the fourth edition of pan-Asian multi-sport event sanctioned by the Asian Games Federation (AGF). The games were held from 24 August to 4 September 1962, in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was the first international multi-sport event hosted by the then-17-year-old Southeast Asian country. This was the first of two Asian Games hosted by the city: the second was held in 2018, with Palembang as the co-host.
The 2010 Asian Games, officially known as the XVI Asian Games and also known as Guangzhou 2010, was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events commenced earlier on November 7, 2010. It was the second time China had hosted the Asian Games, with the first one being Asian Games 1990 hosted in Beijing.
The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the 17th Asian Games and also known as Incheon 2014, was a pan-Asian multi-sport event held in Incheon, South Korea. This was the third time South Korea hosted the Asian Games, having previously hosted in 1986 and 2002.
The West Asian Games was a multi-sport event held every four years among the athletes from West Asia.
The South Asian Games, formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games, is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic Council (SAOC), formed in 1983. Currently, the SAOC comprises 7 member countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan participated 4 times in the SAF Games since 2004, but left the SAOC after participating in the 2016th edition and joined CAOC.
The India men's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey competitions, and is governed by Hockey India. The team was formerly under the control of Indian Hockey Federation. India was the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation. In 1928, the team won its first Olympic gold medal and until 1960, the Indian men's team remained unbeaten in the Olympics, winning six gold medals in a row. The team had a 30–0 winning streak during this time, from their first game in 1928 until the 1960 gold medal final which they lost. India also won the World Cup in 1975. India's hockey team is the most successful team ever in the Olympics, having won a total of eight gold medals – in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964 and 1980. India also has the best overall performance in Olympic history with 83 victories out of the 134 matches played. They have also scored more goals in the Olympics than any other team. They are also the only team ever to win the Olympics without conceding a single goal, having done so in 1928 and 1956.
The men's football tournament has been a regular Asian Games sporting event since the 1951 edition, while the women's tournament began in 1990.
Football has been part of the Southeast Asian Games sport since the 1959 edition. The women's football competition was held for the first time in 1985 in Thailand.
The 2018 Asian Games, officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang.
The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games is a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. It is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and consists of Indoor and martial arts events with TV broadcasting potential, some of which were not contested at the Asian Games and Asian Winter Games Programs and are not Olympic sports.
The 2022 Asian Games, officially known as the 19th Asian Games, also known as Hangzhou 2022,, will be a multi-sport event celebrated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Hangzhou will be the third Chinese city to host the Asian Games, after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.
