Largest Asian Games Officially Opened In Hangzhou

The atmosphere of the laser performance ahead of the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in 2022 at Hangzhou Main Stadium, Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center, Zhejiang, China, Saturday (23/9/2023) BETWEEN PHOTOS/M RISYAL HIDAYAT)

JAKARTA - China's largest Asian Games in official history opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou on Saturday night through a magnificent opening ceremony, featuring the host's cultural history combined with the implementation of environmentally friendly technology.

Reported by ANTARA, Saturday, September 23, ahead of the opening ceremony, the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, dubbed the "Teratai Besar", emitted rays from the lamp attraction that showed the splendor of modern stadium architecture with a capacity of 80,800 benches.

At exactly 20.00 local time, Chinese President Xi Jinping entered the stadium, accompanied by the acting chairman of the Asian Olympic Committee Raja Randhir Singh, and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.

For approximately 115 minutes, the opening ceremony program begins with a welcome show, which is followed by a delegation parade to various art performances that carry themes such as the autumn equinox, one of the moments of celebration of the harvest period in China, as well as the phenomenon of high tides that have witnessed historical changes in Hangzhou and the Liang-zhu civilization.

Tides Surfing in Asia, which is inspired by the phenomenon of famous tidal waves in Hangzhou, became a major theme of performances at the opening ceremony, depicting tidal waves as the breath of nature, the beat of the sport so that the Asian Games are expected to be a festival of Asians, as well as bring joy and splendor to the world.

China also showcased its expertise in holding grand festivals and celebrating in front of a number of heads of state who were also present at the opening ceremony, including Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Timorese Prime Minister Leste Xanana Gusmao, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, and Kuwaiti Royal Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

After raising China's national flag, contingents from various Asian countries entered the stadium accompanied by Hangzhou Asian Games mascots, namely Chenchen, Congcong, and Lianlian.

Afghanistan became the first country in a series of athlete defiles, while the contingent hosted China was the last to enter the stadium after Yemen.

Indonesian wushu athlete Nandhira Mauriskha and men's indoor volleyball athlete Herina Zulfi played the role of the Red and White flag holder, leading the Indonesian contingent which sent 413 athletes to target 12 gold medals in Hangzhou.

Nandhira, who is the 2021 Vietnam SEA Games silver winner, wore the traditional Betawi brackets. Meanwhile, Hernandez, who helped Indonesia win the 2019 SEA Games, 2021 and 2023 gold, wore full traditional clothes from Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara.

The Asian Games in Hangzhou, which is the third time China has hosted, also broke the athlete's participation record, sports number and overall event in the history of the Asian Games.

As confirmed by the HAGOC organizing committee, as many as 45 National Olympic Committees brought around 12,500 athletes, the most in the history of the Asian Games, breaking the previous record of 11,300 athletes at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia in 2018.

They will compete to be the best for 481 gold medals in 40 sports competed for 15 days in 56 arenas spread across Hangzhou and five supporting cities namely Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing, and Jinhua.

After raising the Chinese flag, and the OCA organizing committee and president remarks, Xi officially opened the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

China itself as the host has the privilege of choosing what sport to compete in, such as Chinese bridges, chess, and chess (Xiangqi) as non-Olympic sports contested in Hangzhou.

The Bamboo Curtain country has always been the overall champion of the Asian Games since 1982 and this year they deployed 886 athletes to Hangzhou, including 13-year-old child skateboarder Cui Chenxi.

E-sports, breakdancing, and rock climbing will also make their debut at the Asian Games to attract the interest of the younger generation.

In line with the theme they carry, Hangzhou is a city where culture and history mix with modern technology. And as before, the opening ceremony for international sporting events has always been the main platform to showcase the culture of the host country.

The opening ceremony which took place majestically at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center on Saturday night shows the long history of the city on China's east coast projected to the screen and stadium floor, combined with advanced dancers and technology attractions such as three-dimensional animation without eye-surpturing glasses, to the innovative lighting of the Asian Games kaldron by involving traditional and virtual torchholders.

Because it carries an environmentally friendly concept, this Asian Games is unique and hit a standard opening of a multi-branch sporting event. Instead of lighting traditional fireworks, the production team has designed a virtual fireworks display that is displayed on the screen and uses zero emission methanol as a kaldron fuel.

China is using renewable energy sources to support the Asian Games this time as well as showing the resilience of the Bamboo Curtain country in realizing a green and low carbon environment.

For the first time in the history of the Asian Games, Hangzhou 2022 will fully use green electricity as a regular electricity supply in all competition arenas.

Electric vehicles and buses also became a mode of transportation for athletes and media crew during coverage in Hangzhou.

The Chinese government and HAGOC as the organizing committee really want to present the grandest sporting event in Asia with a green and intelligent concept. The 19th Asian Games this time is expected to be an example for the next editions.

"To the people of Hangzhou, without your hard work and tireless contribution, all of this will not materialize," Singh said, closing his remarks by saying xie, which means thank you in the local language.