Chinese dominance to continue

For South Korea and Japan, hoping to beat China for Asian Games supremacy is akin to hoping for a victory over Rafael Nadal in the French Open final. Some dreams never come true. For Japan — so utterly dominant in the first eight editions of the Asian Games — the second place in the Asiad has now become a prize to savour.

“There are a lot of political issues, not among the athletes themselves, but the reality is our rivalry isn’t with China but with South Korea,” Japan delegation official Yuji Takada admitted.

Hosts South Korea have given themselves a target of 90 gold medals to steal the second place from Japan. The bar has been raised so high by China since their first table-topping show at the 1982 Delhi Asiad that it has become impossible for the Japanese and South Koreans, for that matter any other nation, to catch them.

Nevertheless, the South Koreans are hoping to give the continent a wonderful event. They have reportedly spent around two billion US dollars on world-class infrastructures in Incheon, leaving no stone unturned in their effort to make the world’s second biggest multi sports event a grand success.

The Incheon sky will be illuminated by fireworks in the opening ceremony on Friday evening where the biggest attraction will be the South Korean musical superstar Psy. Expect the crowd to dance with him when he belts out his greatest hit: Gangnam Style.

Of course, expect a Chinese gold rush once the serious competition starts. Their swimmers, divers, paddlers, shuttlers, weightlifters, shooters and track and field stars would once again look to maintain their supremacy. Sun Yang, who became a Chinese sensation with two swimming gold medals in the London Olympics, will be the biggest attraction at the Games in which 13,000 athletes from 45 countries will vie for glory.

The biggest names though will keep an eye on an even bigger prize — Rio 2016. After all, the Asian Games gives them the chance gauge their level of play. It was the reason why the idea of having the Asiad first came to the mind of an Indian sports official during the 1948 London Olympics. He suggested to his colleagues from other Asian countries to have a continental multi sports event in between the two Olympics to boost sport in Asia. Three years later the first Asiad was held in Delhi and Games haven’t looked back since, producing athletes that have gone toe-to-toe with other top stars from the rest of the world in Olympics.

OVERVIEW

• Duration: September 19, 2014 - October 4, 2014 (16 days)
• Venues: In and around Incheon Metropolitan City
• Participants: About 13,000 athletes and officials and about 7,000 media from the 45 OCA member states
• Staff: Approx. 30,000
• Host: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA)
• Organizer: The 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee (IAGOC)
• No of Sports: 36

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2,000,000,000 approximate cost in US dollars — roughly one-tenth of what China spent on the 2010 Guangzhou Games

61,000 capacity of Incheon Asian Games Main Stadium, venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field

30,000 staff working at the event, which finishes on October 4

13,000 athletes and officials taking part, similar to the Summer Olympics

439 gold medals up for grabs, down from 477 four years ago at Guangzhou 2010

49 sports venues to be used, ranging from the glittering main stadium to squash courts and the Chungju Tangeum Lake International Rowing Centre

3 harbour seals, named Barame, Vichuon and Chumuro, the official Asian Games mascots