Chinese President Xi Jinping will declare the Asian Games open at a glittering ceremony in Hangzhou on Saturday, kickstarting a sporting behemoth that boasts more athletes than the Olympics.
After being delayed by a year due to China's strict zero-Covid regime, more than 12,000 competitors from 45 nations across Asia and the Middle East are in the eastern city to compete in 40 sports.
The Games are "likely to be China's post-pandemic soft power exercise in the fully packed stadium with the presence of political and business leaders in Asia," Jung-Woo Lee, sport policy expert at the University of Edinburgh, told AFP. The northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh is claimed almost in full by Beijing, which calls it "South Tibet".
They will fight for medals in 40 sports from athletics, swimming and football to bridge, along with a host of regional specialities including dragon boat racing, Chinese martial art wushu and kabaddi, a popular contact sport on the Indian subcontinent. "We are open to all. This means our Games are not concentrated only for elite sportspeople," he said.
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