Xi Jinping officially opens the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games 2023
Sport
5 min read
Chinese President Xi Jinping officially opened the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, on September 23 2023. The Asian Games are held every 4 years.The 19th Asian Games were originally scheduled to be held in 2022, but it was postponed due to covid related restrictions in China. The 18th Asian Games were held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018.
China is hosting the Asian Games for the third time after the Beijing Games in 1990 and GuangzhouGames in 2010. The 19th Hangzhou Asian Games will be held from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
Controversy over denial of visa to Indian Wushu player
The Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Anurag Thakur decided to boycott the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in protest against the denial of visa by the Chinese authorities to three women Wushu players from Arunachal Pradesh. Mepung Lamgu Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega were part of an 11 member Indian wushu contingent.
Wushu or formerly called kung fu, is a martial art that has its origins in China.
China considers Arunachal Pradesh its own territory and normally it issues stapled visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh instead of the pasted visa .
In July 2023 ,the Indian Wushu team did not travel to the Chinese city of Chengdu for the World University Games after these athletes were given stapled rather pasted visas.
Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony was held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, also known as the Big Lotus.
Mascot and Slogan of the Hangzhou Games
During the flag hoisting ceremony, the mascots of the Hangzhou games, Chenchen, Congcong and Lianlian, were introduced to the 80,000-strong crowd. They are a group of Robots.
On the official website of the games, the three robots are called "Memories of Jiangnan" and derive their name from a Chinese poem.
The Slogan of the game is 'Heart to Heart,@Future'.
Participating teams and event
Around 12500 athletes from 45 countries and Territories of Asia are participating in 61 disciplines of 40 sports.
India's participation at Asian Games
India has sent a strong 665 member team to the Asian Games 2023. At the opening ceremony the Indian team flag was carried by the Indian men's Hockey team captain, Harmanpreet Singh and the Olympic Bronze medalist in Boxing, Lovlina Borgohain.
The Indian team will participate in 41 out of 61 disciplines. For the first time, Indian men's and women's cricket teams will participate in the Hangzhou games.
Indian player performance at
New sports introduced at the 19th Asian Games
esports, breakdancing and sport climbing have been introduced for the first time in the Asian games.
Next Asian Games
The first Asian games were held in New Delhi in 1951.
The next 2026 Asian Games will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, and the 2030 Games will be held in Doha, Qatar.
The hosting rights of the Asian games, like the Olympics, are given to a city and not to a country.
