BSS, South Korea :
The 2014 Asian Games, the largest sporting event in Asia governed by Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) was declared opened on Friday in Incheon, South Korea with 439 events in 36 sports and disciplines ready to hog headlines.
The ceremony started at 6 pm KST (3 pm. BST) at the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium. Bangladesh’s lone silver medalist in recently concluded Commonwealth hero Abdullah Hel Baki beaming with proud smile carried the fluttering Bangladesh flag.
Bangladesh contingent was led by Chef -de- Mission Shaikh Bashir Ahmed Mamoon – attired in black and blue blazer waived the crowd as he carried the flag. In the stands, there were some VIP dignitaries from Bangladesh led by Sports minister Biren Sikder, Shanti Lata Sikdar, Mohammad Zahed Ahsan Russell , Secretary General of Bangladesh Olympic Association Syed Shahed Reza, Mrs Punam Reza and Bangladesh Ambassador in Korea Mohammad Enamul Kabir along with with senior sports organizers were present at the grand gala opening ceremony. ,
Korean pop superstar Psy, singer of the popular song Gangnam Style enthralled the crowd with mesmerizing voice.
Lim Kwon-Taek, renowned for his popular films in South Korea, was in charge of the ceremonies while play writer and actor Jang Jin is artistic director whose show was warmly applauded.
“Unlike the previous Asian Games and Olympics that focused on flaunting their national power, such as 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, 2012 London Olympics, and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games won’t simply show off a scale but try to deliver a clear message, ‘4.5 billion Asians’ dream, Asia as one.
Incheon is the third city in South Korea after Seoul (1986) and Busan (2002) to host the Asian Games. The Games bring together about 13,000 athletes for a 16-day multi-sport spectacular second only in scale to the Summer Olympics.
From weightlifting to wushu, rowing to rugby sevens and swimming to sepak takraw, the Games will showcase elite Asian talent in 28 Olympic and eight non-Olympic sports from tomorrow until October 4, with a total of 439 gold medals up for grabs. There are 49 competition venues and 48 training facilities that will be used during the Games. Among the 49 competition venues, ten venues featured in six cities of Gyeonggi Province while another two featured in Chungju and Seoul. The rest of the venues featured in eight districts and a county inside the metropolitan city of Incheon. While China are certainties to top the medal count for the ninth straight Games, South Korea have set an ambitious target of 90 golds, though the hosts would probably settle for less as long as they finish above fierce rivals Japan.
India, perennial underachievers in world sport, are determined to improve on the 14 golds they won four years ago in Guangzhou, while Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand will battle it out for bragging rights in South East Asia.
