ASIAN GAMES

Year Is Finally Here In 2023

Welcome to the 60th edition of our OCA newsletter Sporting Asia –and the first publication of what promises to be a busy 2023 for our National Olympic Committees, games organising committees and athletes.

After the decision, last May, to postpone the 19th Asian Games, we are finally at the start of another Asian Games year, with all eyes firmly focused on Hangzhou, China and the new dates of September 23 to October 8, 2023.

By the time the 19th Asian Games open, it will have been five years since the previous Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia – an unprecedented gap in our proud, unbroken sequence going back to 1951.

With full systems go for the organising committee, the OCA and our 45 NOCs, the coming weeks and months will fly by and the 19th Asian Games will be here quicker than we could imagine. I am sure it will be a cause for celebration and excellent athletic performances with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games less than a year after Hangzhou.

The OCA’s second major event of 2023 will be the 6th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok and Chonburi province from November 17-26. Our Coordination Committee conducted their first meeting and venue tours for the AIMAG in Thailand last November and the reports and pictures can be found in Sporting Asia.

The events and activities of our NOCs are also well documented in the following pages, while the OCA Development Programme for Coaches and Referees in Uzbekistan, the OCA Youth Reporter Project in Kuwait and the Olympic Solidarity/OCA Regional Forum in Saudi Arabia also feature prominently.

As the sporting world catches up with events after the pandemic, we appreciate that our NOCs will be extremely busy this year preparing not only for our two OCA games but for other regional events and, of course, Paris 2024 qualification.

The OCA, as ever, will offer all support to our NOCs and our games organising committees to keep everything running smoothly.

Wishing you all a happy and successful 2023!

Raja Randhir Singh Acting President, Olympic Council of Asia