track and field, swimming the most popular asian games events
the main stadium of the asian games hangzhou 2022. [photo/hangzhou2022.cn]
the first-phase application for the asian games hangzhou 2022 concluded on march 16.
the national olympic committees of 45 countries and regions in asia have submitted applications to take part in 61 events of the games.
thailand and indonesia nocs both submitted the most entries, confirming their participation in all events. china, india, kazakhstan and saudi arabia submitted the most entries in the east, south, central and west asia, respectively.
track and field and swimming remained the most popular categories for participating countries, with all countries signing up. this is followed by boxing, judo, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, and karate.
the number of nocs signing up for soccer, 5-a-side basketball, 3-a-side basketball, beach volleyball, and table tennis also grew.
twenty-seven nocs have registered to participate in the e-sports category and 17 nocs have signed up for breaking, or break dancing. the two new sports were added in december 2020.
more than half of the nocs have registered to compete in wushu, ju-jitsu and kurash, an indication that these non-olympic sports from asia are becoming increasingly popular.
the sport entry for the games will be implemented in three phases: entry by sport, entry by number, and entry by name.
the first phase, entry by sport, began on 29 dec, 2020 and saw nocs submitting entries nominating the sports in which they intend to compete.
the second phase, entry by number, will begin in september 2021 after the chefs de mission seminar. the organizing committee of the games is currently working to draft relevant regulations.
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