South Asian Games

Last updated
South Asian Games
AbbreviationSAG
MottoPeace, Prosperity Progress
First event 1984 South Asian Games, Kathmandu, Nepal
Occur everyFour years
Last event 2019 South Asian Games, Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal
Next event 2025 South Asian Games, Lahore, Pakistan
Purpose Multi-sport event for nations in South Asia
Best performer India Flag of India.svg

The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan had participated in the Games four times, but left the SAOC after participating in 2016.

Contents

The first South Asian Games were hosted by Kathmandu, Nepal in 1984. From 1984 to 1987 they were held every year except 1986, as it was a year of Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. From 1987 onwards, they have been held every two years except for some occasions. In 2004, the South Asian Sports Council decided to rename the games from the South Asian Federation Games to the South Asian Games as officials believed the word federation was diminishing the emphasis on the event and acting as a barrier to attracting spectators. [1]

These Games are often hyped as the South Asian version of Olympic Games. The XIII South Asian Games was held at Kathmandu, Pokhara and Janakpur from 1 December to 10 December 2019.

The South Asian Games is one of five subregional Games of the Olympic Council of Asia. The others are Central Asian Games, East Asian Youth Games, Southeast Asian Games, and West Asian Games. [2]

Editions

EditionYearHost CitiesHost NationNationsSportsEventsRef
1 1984 Kathmandu Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 7562 [3]
2 1985 Dhaka Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 7794 [4]
3 1987 Calcutta Flag of India.svg  India 710116 [5]
4 1989 Islamabad Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 710114 [6]
5 1991 Colombo Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 710142 [7]
6 1993 Dhaka Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 711115 [8]
7 1995 Madras Flag of India.svg  India 714143 [9]
8 1999 Kathmandu Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 712163 [10]
9 2004 Islamabad Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 815170 [11]
10 2006 Colombo Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 820197 [12]
11 2010 Dhaka Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 823158 [13]
12 2016 Guwahati
Shillong
Flag of India.svg  India 822226 [14]
13 2019 Kathmandu
Pokhara
Janakpur
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 726317 [15]
14 2025 Lahore Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 737TBD
15 2027 Colombo Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 7TBDTBD
16 2030 Dhaka Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 7TBDTBD
16 2034TBAFlag of India.svg  India 7TBDTBD

List of sports

Following 29 sports have been competed in South Asian Games history till latest edition:

Medal table

Rank NOC GoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Flag of India.svg India 12637363792378
2 Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan 2974214321150
3 Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka 2504366811367
4 Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal 124186380690
5 Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh 86210493789
6 Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan 2236691
7 Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives 131317
Former member 1
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg Afghanistan 212879128

1 Left SAOC and joined CAG.

Medals by year

RankNOC1984198519871989199119931995199920042006201020162019
Gold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svgGold medal asia.svgSilver medal asia.svgBronze medal asia.svg
1 Flag of India.svg India 442816613214914519614320645941604631106601910258371035732118694790553018892281759245
2 Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan 532212612163614423322283225232220103336103630385550434471192536123557304157
3 Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka 711192794723610214434402022391625531642621732573763781635542564984084128
4 Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal 41281922273311332282916154816311024762091531891932335516096
5 Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh 281391738320311122448281119327173421035313243153418235641655193289
6 Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan 002004015003000000002167132031002301150713
7 Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives 001000000000010000001004000000002021104
Former Member
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg Afghanistan Not part of SAOC 1328671679167919Not part of SAOC

Performance table

CountryTop rankedSecond-rankedThird-ranked
Flag of India.svg India 13 times
Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan 7 times4 times
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka 4 times7 times
Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal 2 times
Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh 2 times

South Asian Beach Games

EditionYearHost CityHost NationTop Placed Team
I 2011 Hambantota Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka Flag of India.svg  India  (IND)

South Asian Winter Games

EditionYearHost CitiesHost NationTop Placed Team
I 2011 [16] Dehradun and Auli Flag of India.svg  India Flag of India.svg  India  (IND)

See also

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References

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