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Asian Games to feature only 35 sports from 2014

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-11 20:49

NEW DELHI: The Olympic Council of Asia has decided to reduce the number of sporting disciplines at the quadrennial Asian Games to 35 at the 2014 event in South Korea.

Randhir Singh, general-secretary of the OCA, said Saturday the council made the decision to trim the event at its general assembly in Singapore on Friday.

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The Asian Games is the biggest multiple-sports event outside of the Olympics and will feature 42 different sports in next year's edition in the Chinese city of Guangzhou.

"The OCA felt that the Asian Games had grown too big, the decision to put a cap on the number of sports will come into effect from the 2014 games," Singh said.

From 2014, the Asian Games would feature "a maximum of seven sports outside the Olympic schedule," he said.

The OCA also decided to change the cycle of the Asian Games.

After the 2014 games in Incheon, South Korea, the next edition will be staged in 2019. They will then continue to be held a year ahead of the Olympics. The host city for the 2019 Asian Games is still to be decided.

Several sports disciplines from the Asian Games roster of 2010 will now be moved to other continental multiple-sport games, such as the Asian Indoor Games, Asian Martial Arts Games and Asian Beach Games.