Sri Lanka showcased at Incheon Asian Indoor Games held in Korea

Wednesday, 3 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Taking the opportunity during the Asian Martial Arts and Indoor games held in Incheon, Korea, Sri Lanka showcased her economic and infrastructure developments in the run-up to Asian Youth Games in 2017. At the progress review at the Executive Board Meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia, Vipula Wanigasekera, General Manager of the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, explained Sri Lanka’s economic growth as well as infrastructure development with the commissioning of the new airport and sea port in Hambantota where the Asian Youth Games are scheduled to be held in 2017 while Master Planner for Hambantota Sports City Athula Amerasekera presented a detailed outline of the venues.

The Asian Youth Games would be the biggest sports event to be held in Sri Lanka which would take place in Hambantota in 2017. Hambantota won the bid to host the games in 2017 and the President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah arrived in Sri Lankan in June 2012 to announce that Hambantota had been chosen as the host of the games. Indonesia, Qatar, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan also bid to stage the games but were unsuccessful. The agreement was signed between Hambantota and OCA in November in Macau in 2012. The Asian Youth Games (AYG) is an international multi-sport event

held every four years to complement the current Asian Games. The first Asian Youth Games was hosted by Singapore as a test in preparation for Youth Olympic Games in 2009. The next event will be held in 2013 in Nanjing, China, prior to the Games in Hambantota in 2017. Surabaya is said to be a strong contender for the games in 2021