Wednesday September 20, 2023 | 3:03 p.m. WIB
Ikmal Fauzan Hanif/CAH
Mascot of the 2022 Asian Games.
Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – The 2022 Asian Games will officially open on September 23, 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The Asian Games is not just a sporting event, but many interesting things have happened since this major multi-event sporting event was first held in Asia.
History of the Asian Games
Asia’s largest sporting event, or what is commonly known as the Asian Games, was first held in India from March 4 to 11, 1951, in New Delhi. At that time, the Asian Games Federation (AGF) was responsible for organizing the inaugural Asian Games event.
Eleven countries participated, including Indonesia during the first Asian Games in 1951.
The sports played are still relatively small, a total of only 8 sports, including weightlifting, football, basketball, cycling, athletics, swimming, water polo and diving.
Japan is the country that successfully won the first edition of the Asian Games in 1951 by winning 60 medals, including 24 gold, 21 silver and 15 bronze.
Best performing country
The Asian Games, which began from 1951 to 2018 with Indonesia as host, produced countries that took turns becoming overall champions.
China is the first country to win the Asian Games the most times since the first edition. Followed by Japan in second place and South Korea in third place. Then below are countries such as Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Indonesia.
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