18th Asian Games kick off in Indonesia

The 18th Asian Games kicked off last week-end in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang. This will be the first time the Asian Games are co-hosted in two cities;the Indonesian capital of Jakarta previously hosted the Games in 1962. Palembang is the capital of the South Sumatra Province.

Events will be held in and around the two cities, including venues in Bandung and Provinces of West Java and Banten.

Sri Lanka will have 177 athletes, and a total of 255 individuals, will be there representing at the Games. The event is to end on 2 September. China is expected to dominate the Asian Games this year as well. In the last event, they won 151 Gold medals, 109 Silver medals and 85 Bronze Medals.

Sri Lanka will have Athletes (12), Badminton (6), Basketball (8), Beach volleyball (2), Boxing (6), Golf (4), Hockey (18), Volleyball (14), Judo (2), Kabaddi (24), Karate (6), Skaters (4), Rowers (4), Rugby Sevens (12), Squash (4), Table Tennis (2), Taekwondo (6), Tennis (6), Weightlifters (4), Wushu (2), Archery (1), Sailing (1), Triathlon (1), Wrestling (1), Gymnastic (1) and 1 player in e-Sports.

There will be a total of 78 coaching staff on this tour, the highest in Sri Lankan Asian Games history. (SJ)