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Introduction The Asian Games, also called the Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia . The games are regulated by the Olympic Council of Asia ( OCA ) under the supervision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Medals are awarded in each event, with gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition which started in 1950. Competitors are entered by a National Olympic Committee ( NOC ) to represent their country of citizenship. National anthems and flags accompany the medal ceremonies, and tables showing the number of medals won by each country are widely used. In general only recognised nations are represented, but a few non-sovereign countries are allowed to take part. The special case of Taiwan was handled by having it compete as Chinese Taipei , due to disagreements over the political status of Taiwan . History Far Eastern Championship Games The Asian Games owes its origins to small Asian multi-sport competitions. The Far Eastern Championship Games were created to show unity and cooperation among three nations: Empire of Japan , Philippine Islands and Republic of China . The first games were held in Manila in 1913. Other East Asian nations participated after its organized. It was discontinued in 1938 when Japan invaded China and consequently annexed the Philippines which led to the extension World War II in the Pacific. Formation of the Asian Games After World War II , a number of Asian countries became independent. Many of the new independent Asian countries want to use a new type of competition where Asian dominance cannot be used by violence and should be strengthen by mutual understanding. In August 1948, during the 14th Olympic Games in London , Indian IOC representative Guru Dutt Sondhi proposed to sports leaders of the Asian teams the idea of having discussions about holding the Asian Games. They agreed to form the Asian Athletic Federation. A preparatory committee was set up to draft the charter for the Asian amateur athletic federation. In February, 1949, the Asian athletic federation was formally formed and used the name Asian Games Federation. It was decided to hold the first Asian Games in 1951 in New Delhi , the capital of India . They added that the Asian Games would be regularly held once every four years . Reorganization of the Federation In 1962, the Federation had a disagreement over the inclusion of Republic of China and Israel . Asian Games host Indonesia opposed the participation of Republic of China due to the existence of People's Republic of China and Israel due to its unfair treatment of Arabs. In 1970, South Korea dropped its plan to host the games due to security threats from North Korea , forcing previous host Thailand to administer the games in Bangkok using the funds of South Korea . In 1973, the Federation had another disagreement after U.S. and other countries formally recognized the People's Republic of China and Arab nation's opposition to Israel . In 1977, Pakistan dropped its plan to host the games due to conflicts with Bangladesh and India . Thailand offered to help and the games were held in Bangkok . Due to events happened, the Asian NOCs decided to revise the constitution of the Asian Games Federation. A new association, named Olympic Council of Asia , was created. India was already scheduled to host the 1982 Games and OCA decided not to drop the old AGF timetable. OCA formally supervised the games starting from the 1986 Asian Games in South Korea . In the succeeding games, Taiwan (Republic of China) was readmitted but OCA decided to follow the standards of the IOC for Taiwan to use the name Chinese Taipei . The OCA also agreed to permanently exclude Israel as its member and requested the country to join into European competitions. Western Expansion In the 1994 Asian Games, despite opposition from other nations, OCA admitted the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan , Kyrgystan , Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan , and Tajikistan .
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