Asian Games : A retrospective look
I know this is too late to finish the coverage of Asian Games held at Doha, Qatar, but professional schedule prevented me from taking any active part in
Fe for a long time. So i could not write the final article.
still its never too late.
Here is a brief summary of the Asian Games at Doha.
Exuberant hosts:
After a mesmerizing and scintillating opening ceremony there was a flood of extremely competitive, healthy, superlative sports environment completely engulfing the host nation with exuberance.
Even though being organized in a relatively small city and a small nation the games were a perfectly executed.
In addition to the perfect organization the host nation also proved their mettle in sports field by showing their best ever performance in familiar environment and condition.
In a fitting finale to the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006, the 428th and last gold medal was presented to host nation Qatar as men’s football champions following their 1-0 defeat of Iraq at Al-Sadd Sports Club.
The victory gave Qatar their 32nd medal of Doha 2006 – nine gold, 12 silver and 11 bronze – to almost double their previous best tally of 17 medals won by their athletes at the last edition in Busan, Korea.
Best ever performance by other countries :
However
Qatar weren’t the only country or region to enjoy their best ever Games as 10 other National Olympic Committees (NOCs) leave Doha on the back of their best haul when judged on the number of gold, then silver and bronze won, not the overall total.
These are
Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tajikistan, the United Arab Emirates and
Hong Kong, China.
Three of these nations –
Tajikistan, Jordan and UAE – had more cause to celebrate after winning their first ever gold medals.
Hammer thrower Dilshod Nazarov won Tajikistan’s first, Jordan’s came in the men’s 54kg taekwondo category through Mohammad Al Bakhit, while the UAE had the men’s -65kg bodybuilding champion Mohamed Salem Abdulla Zahmi.
the countrywise performance summary :
The 15th Asian Games also yielded
at least one gold medal for 26 of the 45 NOCs,
while all bar seven of these
( total 38 NOCs) return home with at least one medal of any colour – both one fewer than the best figures from Busan in 2002.
However while Takijistan, Jordan and UAE celebrated their first gold medals.
There were
four countries who won titles in Busan failed to claim any in Doha – Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
By contrast
Korea won their 500th gold medal through rower Shin Eul Chul.
while the
3,000th gold medal in Asian Games history was won by the Japanese men’s soft tennis team on 3 December.
More than 10,000 medals have been handed out since the inaugural Asian Games was held in Delhi in 1951, with C
hina having surpassed the 2,000 mark themselves during Doha 2006.
In all a total of 1,393 medals were presented in ceremonies across the 16 venues, which equates to 428 gold, 423 silver and 542 bronze. China won the most gold (165) and silver (88), but Korea claimed the most bronze (82).
China, as expected, won the most medals overall with 316 – only Japan and Korea reached three figures with 198 and 193 respectively – with their women accounting for 91 of their 165 gold medalists.
The Chinese men though claimed the first gold medal of the Games when Li Jie, Liu Tianyou and Zhu Qinan won the men’s 10m air rifle at the Lusail Shooting Complex on 2 December.
The complete Medal Table: 
Multiple medal winners :
China’s success is evident with their representatives accounting for 12 of the
17 athletes who won at least three gold medals. These multi-medallists were spread
across seven sports in swimming, artistic gymnastics, shooting, badminton, cue sports, track cycling and table tennis. Female swimmer Pang Jiaying and male gymnast Yang Wei were the most successful in terms of gold medals, the Chinese duo winning four apiece, although Korean teenager Park Tae Hwan claimed seven medals overall.
Athletes of the Doha Asian Games : Most valuable Player of the Games: 17 year-old swimmer Park Tae Hwan of Korea won total seven medal including Four gold medals, and he walked away with the Samsung Most Valuable Player award from the Games, a deserved reward for his three gold, one silver, three bronze and two Asian records broken in the pool.
Doha 2006 witnessed some stunning performances across the board which will live in memory for years to come. One, Korean teenager Park Tae Hwan, was picked out by Official Partner Samsung as the Games’ Most Valuable Player.
Swimming sensation Park's honour of being named MVP of the 15th Asian Games was a fitting recognition of the Korean teenager’s seven medals – the most by any athlete at Doha 2006.
HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani – Qatar
HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani, captain of Qatar’s equestrian endurance team, who galloped his steed Malibu up the long, steep slope to light the Cauldron and bring to an end the 50,000km journey of the Doha 2006 Flame
Hoang Anh Tuan – Vietnam 
Hoang Anh Tuan will go down in history as Vietnam’s first ever weightlifting medalist in 55 years of the Asian Games. Hoang won silver in the men’s 56kg division, missing out on gold by only 2kg behind China’s world champion Li Zheng.
Chen Yanqing – China
Chen Yanqing of China came out of retirement to set an incredible five world weightlifting records in the 58kg women’s event. The 27 year-old Olympic champion broke the snatch and clean & jerk records as well as three total records.
He Ning – China
Just 16 years of age, He Ning took her first major individual title by scooping women’s all-around gymnastics gold. It was her second medal of the Games after taking team gold the day before.
Mu Shuangshuang – China
In a day of titanic effort in the Al Dana hall, Mu Shuangshuang of China was not only crowned women’s +75kg weightlifting champion, but in addition she snatched an amazing 139kg, creating a new world record in the process. Her total combined weight lifted was 317kg.
Mohammad Al Bakhit – Jordan
Mohammad Al Bakhit made history by becoming the first athlete from Jordan to win a gold medal at an Asian Games. The 19 year-old won the men’s 54kg taekwondo final by a solitary point scored late in the fourth round. He put his success down to extensive training for the past two years.
Abdulla Ali Abdulla Al Ejail – Qatar
Qatar’s eventing gold and silver medallist Abdulla Ali Abdulla Al Ejail was a vital part of the victorious host team of Awad Mohammed Al Qahtani, Rashid Faraj Alat Al Marri and Ali Mohammed Ali Al Marri – but also won individual silver. Al Ejail, 23, led the way with a clear round in the show jumping on horse Quinten, to add to his perfect display in cross country.
Jean Claude Rabbath – Lebanon
Lebanon’s Jean Claude Rabbath won his country’s first-ever athletics gold, their first gold of Doha 2006 and made athletics only the fourth sport they have won gold in – all in one jump. What chance of Beirut commissioning a gold statue of their high-jump hero? If they could find a way to keep it on the ground, that is…
Daham Najm Bashair – Qatar
Qatar’s Daham Najm Bashair surged past world champion Rashid Ramzi after the final bend to take gold in the men’s 1500m, nipping ahead of Ramzi’s fellow Bahraini Belall Mansoor Belal by just two one-hundredths of a second. Defending Asian Games champ Ramzi settled for bronze.
Akihito Yamada – Japan
Japan were heading for another rugby sevens final defeat until Akihito Yamada guaranteed himself hero status in the Land of the Rising Sun with his last gasp gold medal-winning try. His effort denied Korea a third straight Asian Games crown, condemning them to a heartbreaking 27-26 defeat. Joy and pain – it’s what sport is all about.
Erfan Ali Saeed – Qatar
Two points behind, five seconds left, and with an expectant nation watching his next move it would have been understandable if Erfan Ali Saeed had wavered under the pressure. Saeed didn’t, stepping up and showing nerves of steel to sink the two free throws that kept Qatar in the hunt for basketball gold.
Leander Paes – India
He won two tennis doubles gold medals back to back today after an exhausting schedule and all the while nursing an injured finger. Leander Paes secured his fourth Asian Games gold this evening. He is the most successful Asian Games singles and doubles tennis player, with four gold, and two bronze medals. He is a well deserving recipient of our ultimate accolade: athlete of the day. We suspect he’s just as happy with his two gold medals. Not bad for a day’s work.
Lin Yue – China
Two golds, four perfect 10s and just 15 years-old, Lin Yue of China pulled out this perfect performance late in Thursday’s 10m platform diving final, when he was just behind the competition leader and needed an excellent score to pull ahead. He did it in no uncertain terms and soared into the lead and the gold medal. Lin Yue clearly feels no pressure, cool hand Yue it is!
Bilal Mohammed Rajab – Qatar
Who else could today’s athlete be than Qatar’s very own Bilal Mohammed Rajab? Bilal, the man who scored the winning goal in Qatar’s 1–0 gold medal defeat of Iraq in front of a packed Al-Sadd Stadium, will be the happiest man in spite of the fact that he really just happened to be in the way of the ball at the right time. But a goal is a goal, a win is a win and a gold medal lasts for ever. Qatar will be eternally grateful that Bilal’s head was where it was, when it was.
the other notable performances :
However these are not the only athletes worthy of a mention, others include
Opas Ruengpanyawut who claimed a bronze medal with Thailand in the men’s 25m standard pistol team, some 24 years after winning his first medal in 1982. This was the 55 year-old’s seventh medal – and fifth bronze – overall.
By contrast the
youngest gold medallist of the Games was Chinese diver Chen Ruolin, the 13 year-old teaming up with Jia Tong to win the women’s synchro 10m platform final before claiming silver in the individual event four days later.
Two other athletes worthy of mentions are
Iranian weightlifter Hossein Reza Zadeh, who lifted an amazing 425kg to win the men’s +105kg category,
China’s Chen Yanqing who broke five world records on her way to 58kg gold.
Reocrds Gallor :
In all a total of 33 world or Asian records were set or tied during the Games. The world records came in shooting and weightlifting with the Asian bests in archery, athletics, track cycling, shooting, swimming and weightlifting.
However it wasn’t all about the winning of medals, taking part for some was just as much of an achievement for them, including Qatar’s lone female representative in women’s golf, Shorouq Al Sowaidi, who finished 192 over par.
The games lost one of its participant in a tragic accident :
Korea’s rider Kim Hyung Chil died in a tragic accident during the Equestrian Individual Cross Country competition this morning.
Doha Asian Games Organising Committee (DAGOC) announced this news at an official Press Conference, attended by Chung Hyun Sook, Chef de Mission of South Korea.
The veteran 47 year-old Kim Hyung Chil, from Seoul, was crushed under his mount Bundaberg Black on Fence 8.
The horse is under observation and there are no visible injuries. Kim was the oldest among the Korea Equestrian team and had won the Silver Medal in the team competition at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan.
The competition resumed after two and a half hours, following approval by the technical delegate, who inspected the course and the fence after the tragic accident. The technical delegate had cleared the competition in the morning, following which the event commenced.
The size of the games :
The Games have been about more than just the athletes as 16,000 volunteers from 100 countries around the world have worked 100,000 shifts to ensure the 750,000 spectators had an experience of a lifetime.
More than 6,000 members of the media have covered the quadrennial spectacular, while the official website of the 15th Asian Games has proved a phenomenal success with more than 130 million hits recorded by 14 December.
A million bottles of water were consumed over the 15 days with the 8,050 competitors being served a total of 600,000 meals at the Athletes’ Village, 100,000 fewer than served for the workforce of volunteers.
The 15th Asian Games Doha 2006 truly have been the Games of your Life for all involved.
Next Games to be held in Guangzhou, China :
asked with the challenge of following the incredible success of Doha 2006 is Guangzhou, who will host the 16th Asian Games in 2010.
The Flame passes on to the southern Chinese city which harbours the same burning desire to put on a spectacular show that Doha has shown.
The fifth largest city in China and the capital of South China's Guangdong province, Guangzhou has a population of around 6 million and is a port city on the Pearl River, navigable to the South China Sea.
It is reported that the number of people involved in sports in the city has reached 42 percent of the total population.
Guangzhou already has more than 10,000 sports facilities, including more than 50 advanced stadiums and gymnasiums, including the Olympic Sports Centre, Tianhe Sports Centre and the New Guangzhou Gymnasium.
With sports facilities covering a total area of 20 million square metres, Guangzhou has the capacity to host the Asian Games. The city will also build 10 competition venues and refurbish or rebuild some existing stadiums.
The Asian Games Village, as planned at the outset by the municipal government, is designed to offer all delegations a secure and comfortable living environment with its various facilities and services, such as accommodation, dining, entertainment, a hospital, finance services, and sports facilities.
The Village, which will be connected to the outside world through digital network systems, has a budget of 1.6 billion yuan (USD193 million) and is expected to be completed well in time for 2010.
From Doha 2006 to Guangzhou 2010 – good luck.
Doha Asian Games : A retrospective look 
Thanks for the amazing coverage of Doha 2006. 
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