Ever since their debut at the 1974 Asian Games in Teheran, China has come a long way to dominate not just Asia but world sport.
It was not much different as China brushed aside all competition to finish at the top of the overall medal standings at the end of the Incheon Asian Games which concluded on Saturday.
Hosts South Korea finished second rather expectedly even as China failed to better the medals record set on home turf in Guangzhou four years back.
China’s medal tally of 199 gold, 119 silver and 98 bronze for a grand total of 416 medals in Guangzhou will stand for a long time. And if at all this is bettered, it will most probably be by China.
In Incheon, China arrived fully aware that they will never be able to get past the record due to the number of sports being slashed to 36 from the 42 disciplines held in Guangzhou. However, that did not stop their dominance in Asia as they recorded a grand total of 342 that included 151 gold, 108 silver and 83 bronze of the total 432 gold medals on offer.
“China deserved to be at the top of the list as they have worked hard to get there. I am convinced that the gap between China and the rest of Asia is getting narrow,” Shaikh Ahmad Fahd Al Sabah, President, Olympic Council of Asia, told media.
South Korea stood second with 234 medals, including 79 gold, 71 silver and 84 bronze while Japan had to settle for third place with 47 gold, 76 silver and 77 bronze for a grand total of 200 medals. Kazakhstan and Iran completed the top-five sporting nations on the continent.
What struck a sour note to end the Games for the defending champions was the stripping of three-time Asian champion hammer thrower Zhang Wenxiu of her Asian Games gold medal as she became the sixth athlete caught for doping last Friday. The Chinese Olympic Committee said the positive test for anabolic agent zeranol may have come from contaminated meat, but it did not indicate whether it planned to appeal the ban.
It was the presence of North Korea that made everyone happy. The reclusive country proved to be the toast as its athletes won a modest 11 gold medals, along with an amazing five of the nine world records in weightlifting. They also went on to convincingly beat Japan 3-1 for the women’s football gold, while the men’s final between North and South was one to cherish for a long time due to the friendship and camaraderie between the two peoples.
Following decades of being left out in the cold when major sporting events were split between North America and Europe, it seems to be Asia as the sports power base at the moment. South Korea will host the next Winter Olympics at Pyeongchang in 2018 and two years later Tokyo will host the summer Olympics, while the Fifa World Cup will move to Asia for the second time when Qatar plays host in 2022. There is a likelihood that the following Winter Games will also go to either Kazakhstan or China.
The OCA is now willing to take a step further by inviting the Oceania zone countries like Australia and New Zealand while spreading the base of the Asian Games.
“We can’t deflate the dreams of our youth. We need to build these up. The Asian Games will always run as a parallel to the Olympics. We do it with the same style and level. We are not worried about the stability of our programme. Asia will maintain this level and from what we see we have secured ourselves at least for the next decade,” Shaikh Ahmad noted.
