ASIAN GAMES

The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), after the breakup of the Asian Games Federation.The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest multisport event after the Olympic Games. In its history, nine nations have hosted the Asian Games. 46 nations have participated in the Games, including Israel, which was excluded from the Games after their last participation in1974.

Participation
All 45 members affiliated to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) are eligible to take part in the Games. In history, 46 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have sent competitors to the Games. Israel has been excluded from the Games since 1976, the reason cited as being due to security reasons. Israel is now a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC). Only seven countries, namely India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand have competed in all editions of the games. The first country to host these games was India in 1951,and again for the9th time in1982

Medal count
Of the 46 National Olympic Committees participating throughout the history of the Games, 43 nations have won at least a single medal in the competition, leaving three nations: Bhutan, Maldives and TimorLeste yet to win a single medal. 34 nations have won at least a single gold medal, while Japan and China became the only two nations in history to emerge as overall champions.

Future changes
The number of competition events is scheduled to shrink down to just 35 sports at the 2014 Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea. 2014 will also see the last Games hosted in even-numbered year, as the Olympic Council of Asia pushed the subsequent Games to just one year ahead of the Olympic Games. This means the 18th Asian Games which were originally planned for 2018 will be pushed to 2019.

MEDAL TALLY
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 China South Korea Japan Iran Kazakhstan India Chinese Taipei Uzbekistan Thailand Malaysia Country Gold 199 76 48 20 18 14 13 11 11 9 Silver Bronze 119 65 74 14 23 17 16 22 9 18 98 91 94 25 38 33 38 23 32 14 Total 416 232 216 59 79 64 67 56 52 41