Incheon, South Korea: The President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has justified the sports body’s decision to hand the hosting of the 18th edition of the Asian Games to Indonesia in 2018.
The General Assembly of the OCA that gathered at the Songdo Convensia on Saturday ratified the decision of the OCA Executive Board and approved to Jakarta staging the Games in 2018.
Indonesia first gave a presentation before the OCA General Assembly members and then Shaikh Ahmad Fahad Al Sabah, OCA President, signed the host city contract for the Asian Games with Indonesian Olympic Committee President Rita Subowo.
Vietnam’s capital Hanoi was due to host the next edition of the Asian Games in 2019, one year before the Tokyo Olympics, but the city withdrew in April this year due to mounting economic problems.
New Delhi too lodged a late bid while requesting the OCA to extend the deadline for tabling bids. But with the new BJP Government in place only in May, India ran out of time and decided not to proceed.
Surabaya, another city in Indonesia, had missed out to Hanoi in the 2012 vote. But the Indonesian National Olympic Committee, returned with government support and offered to host the next Asian Games in Jakarta, supported by Palembang, capital of South Sumatra.
“Indonesia has got the Asian Games because they deserve to host such a big sporting event,” Shaikh Ahmad explained.
“As the OCA we believe Indonesia will stage one of the finest sporting events in its history,” he added.
He further went on to explain that the Games were being held as per schedule in 2018 due to the presidential elections to be held in 2019.
This will be the second time that Indonesia will be hosting the continental competition after successfully staging the fourth edition of the Games in 1962. Since then, Indonesia has organised the inaugural 2008 Asian Beach Games in Bali as well as the South East Asian Games in Palembang in 2011.
IOC President Thomas Bach, who was a special invitee at the OCA meeting, lauded a “truly great Games that have displayed in a unique way the harmony and sport in Asia”. Ironically, both editions of the IOC’s Youth Olympic Games have been held in Asia — the first one in Singapore and the second one in Nanjing, China earlier this year.
Asia has been further flexing its muscles while hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang, Korea and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, while providing two strong candidates for the 2022 Winter Olympics — Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China).
