1951 Asian Games - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event

Multi-sport event

A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the modern Olympic Games.Many...

celebrated in Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Games received names like First Asiad and 1951 Asiad by the president of the organising committee Anthony de Mello

Anthony de Mello (cricket administrator)

Anthony Stanislaus de Mello was an Indian cricket administrator and one of the founders of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.-Background:...

. A total of 489 athletes representing 11 Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 57 events from eight sports and discipline

Asian Games sports

This is a list of sports played in the Asian Games and other major affiliated games organised by the Olympic Council of Asia. On 29 June 2009, the OCA announced major changes to the event lists in the five major events, in particular aiming to restrict each sport to be played in not more than one...

. The Games was the successor of the Far Eastern Games and the revival of the Western Asiatic Games. The 1951 Asiad were originally scheduled to be held in 1950, but postponed until 1951 due to delays in preparations. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Games Federation was formally established in Delhi, with Delhi unanimously announced as the first host city of the Asian Games

Asian Games

The Asian Games, officially known as Asiad, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until the 1978 Games. Since the 1982 Games they have been organised by the...

. Indian Olympic Association

Indian Olympic Association

The Indian Olympic Association is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams at the events...

(IOA) member Guru Dutt Sondhi

Guru Dutt Sondhi

Guru Dutt Sondhi was the founder of the Asian Games Federation .Despite initial setbacks it was formed on February 13, 1949 in New Delhi, where the delegates drafted a constitution...

and the Maharaja of Patiala

Maharaja of Patiala

The Maharaja of Patiala was a maharaja in India and the ruler of the princely state of Patiala in Punjab. The first Maharaja of Patiala was Baba Ala Singh , who was granted the title by Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan in 1764....

, Rajpramukh

Rajpramukh

Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain of India's provinces and states....

of Patiala and East Punjab States Union

Patiala and East Punjab States Union

The Patiala and East Punjab States Union was a state of India from 1948-56. It was created by combining eight princely states: Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Kalsia, Malerkotla and Nalagarh. The state was inaugurated on July 15, 1948 and formally became a state of India in 1950. The...

and president of the IOA HRH Yadavindra Singh played a significant role in the inception of Asian Games

Asian Games

and in organising the 1951 Asiad. The organising committee of the Games invited almost all the independent Asian countries of the time except Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, due to the political structure of those nations.

National Stadium

Dhyan Chand National Stadium

Dhyan Chand National Stadium commonly known by its former name, National Stadium is a field hockey stadium at New Delhi, India. It originally held 25,000 people. It is named after former Indian field hockey player, Dhyan Chand...

was used as the venue for all the events of the Games. The official logo of the First Asiad depicted a bright sun in red with 16 rays and a white circle in the middle of the disc of the sun and eleven rings, representing each participating nation, on a white background, symbolising peace. Japanese athletes

Japan at the 1951 Asian Games

Japan participated in the 1951 Asian Games held in the capital city of New Delhi, India.This country was ranked 1st with 24 gold medals, 21 silver medals and 15 bronze medals with a total of 60 medalsto secure its top spot in the medal tally....

won the most golds and overall medals, with 24 and 60 respectively; while the host nation India

India at the 1951 Asian Games

India participated and hosted the 1951 Asian Games held in the capital city of New Delhi from March 4, 1951 to March 11, 1951. India was ranked 2nd with 15 gold medals in this edition of the Asiad. Sachin Nag won a gold in swimming in this edition....

had the 15 golds and 51 overall medals with most bronzes (20) and finished at second spot in a medal table. The next Asian Games organised by India were the 1982 Asian Games

1982 Asian Games

The 9th Asian Games were held from November 19, 1982 to December 4, 1982 in Delhi, India.An incredible 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of the Olympic Council of Asia.-Sports:...

, some 31 years later.

History

1951 Asian Games, thus Asian Games are considered to be a successor of a small-scale multi-sport event known as the Far Eastern Games, held in between a period of 1913 to 1938 in the different cities of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, and mainland China

Republic of China (1912–1949)

In 1911, after over two thousand years of imperial rule, a republic was established in China and the monarchy overthrown by a group of revolutionaries. The Qing Dynasty, having just experienced a century of instability, suffered from both internal rebellion and foreign imperialism...

. The First Far Eastern Games took place in Manila, Philippines in 1913

1913 Far Eastern Games

The 1st Far Eastern Games were held in February 1913 in Manila, Philippine Islands....

, after the efforts made by the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF). The Games were successfully organised for the next nine terms, but in September 1937, Japan invaded China after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident

Marco Polo Bridge Incident

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, often used as the marker for the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War .The eleven-arch granite bridge, Lugouqiao, is an architecturally significant structure,...

and started the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

(which later became part of the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

), thus the originally planned Games of 1938 in Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

was cancelled and the Far Eastern Games were discontinued thereafter.

During the starting years of 1930s, efforts were made to organise a multi-sport event to include the countries of West Asia too, this gave a birth to "Orient Championship Games", which later renamed as Western Asiatic Games before its first inception. The scope of the Games comprised all the countries east of Suez

Suez

Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...

and west of Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. The First Western Asiatic Games was celebrated in Delhi in 1934 at the Irwin Amphitheater, in which four countries—Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, British India, Palestine Mandate and Ceylon—participated. The decision was made to hold these Games once in four years at mid-point between the two successive Summer Olympics. The 1938 Western Asiatic Games were scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

, Palestine Mandate. However, the Games was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II, and abandoned until 1951 Games, which also considered as the revival of Western Asiatic Games.

Host city selection

On 12 and 13 February 1949, a meeting was organised at the Patiala House

Patiala House Courts Complex

Patiala House Courts Complex., is one the five District Courts complexes in the state of Delhi.It is housed in former palace of the Maharaja of Patiala, is situated near India Gate in central Delhi, India. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens...

, in Delhi, in between the representatives of nine Asian National Olympic Committees. The framework of the meeting was set up in an another meeting held on 8 August 1948 during the Second London Olympics

1948 Summer Olympics

The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...

, which was called by the Indian Olympic Committee's representative Guru Dutt Sondhi. The meeting was chaired by the Yadavindra Singh, president of the Indian Olympic Association. On the last day, Asian Games Federation (AGF) was formalised and a draft constitution was accepted. HRH Yadavindra Singh and Guru Dutt Sodhi were respectively elected as the first president and the secretary of the federation. The five charter members forming the federation were Afghanistan, Burma, India, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, and the Philippines. The decision was made to organise the Asian Games Championships in four-year intervals since the inception of the Games in Delhi in February, 1950. HRH Yadavindra Singh, who also became the president of the organisation committee of Games sent the formal invitation to several other Asian countries to participate in the 1950 Asian Games.

Organisation

The responsibility of organising the First Asian Games was assigned to a special committee headed by Anthony de Mello

Anthony de Mello (cricket administrator)

Anthony Stanislaus de Mello was an Indian cricket administrator and one of the founders of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.-Background:...

. An athletes camp was settled in Delhi, modelled after the Richmond Park

Richmond Park

Richmond Park is a 2,360 acre park within London. It is the largest of the Royal Parks in London and Britain's second largest urban walled park after Sutton Park, Birmingham. It is close to Richmond, Ham, Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Roehampton and East Sheen...

Camp of London, which accommodated athletes of the 1948 Summer Olympics

1948 Summer Olympics

Venues

The venue for the 1951 Asian Games was the Irwin Amphitheater, a multi-purpose sport complex, the same venue which had hosted the 1934 Western Asiatic Games. Before the opening ceremony of the Games, the stadium was re-christened as the "National Stadium" and renovated for the facilities of different events of the Games. Every event with the exception of swimming and water polo was hosted under the premises of the main stadium only, the events of swimming and water polo were organised at the adjacent swimming pool within the premises of the complex.

The stadium was designed by Anthony S. DeMello and five-hundred thousand (500,000) rupees were required for the full construction, which was completed on 13 February 1933. The stadium was named after the Lord Irwin, 30th viceroy of India and the then Secretary of State for War

Secretary of State for War

The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...

Events

The Games featured six sports: Athletics

Athletics at the 1951 Asian Games

Athletics was contested at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India from March 8 to March 11.-Medal table:-Men:-Women:-External links:* - GBR Athletics...

, aquatics—broken into diving

Diving at the 1951 Asian Games

Diving was contested from March 10 to March 11 at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India.-Medal table:-Medalists:-3 m springboard:March 10-10 m platform:March 11-References:*...

, swimming

Swimming at the 1951 Asian Games

Swimming was contested at the 1951 Asian Games in National Stadium Swimming Pool, New Delhi, India from March 5 to March 7, 1951.-Medal table:-Medalists:- References :* * * * - External links :*...

, and water polo

Water polo at the 1951 Asian Games

Water polo was played at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi. Two nations entered the water polo event - India and Singapore.-Medal table:-Medalists:-Results:- References :*...

disciplines—basketball

Basketball at the 1951 Asian Games

Basketball was one of the six initial disciplines which was held at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India, wherein five Asian teams—Burma, India, Iran, Japan and Philippines—participated. In the matches, round-robin format was employed and on the basis of final points table top three podium...

, cycling

Cycling at the 1951 Asian Games

Cycling was contested at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India from March 6 to March 8. Four countries, India, Japan, Iran and Burma participated in this sport.-Medal table:-Road:-Track:-References:*...

—road cycling and track cycling—football

Football at the 1951 Asian Games

Football at the 1951 Asian Games was held in New Delhi, India from March 5 to March 11, 1951.In this tournament, 6 teams played in the men's competition. The games lasted only 60 minutes.-Medal table:-Medalists:- Results :-Quarterfinals:----...

, and weightlifting

Weightlifting at the 1951 Asian Games

Weightlifting was contested from March 5 to March 8 at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India.-Medal table:-Medalists:-56 kg:March 5-60 kg:March 6-67.5 kg:March 7-75 kg:March 8-82.5 kg:March 7-90 kg:March 8-+90 kg:...

. The sports were broken down into 57 events. Many member countries of Asian Games Federation requested for the inclusion of boxing as a medal sport, but due to various reasons, boxing did not make the final list for the Games. Except athletics, women did not participate in any other event.

In the Games, "Mr. Asia of 1951" was also contested as the non-medal event. The contingents were judged on the basis of their physical development, looks, and personality. Parimal Roy of India won the event ahead of Mahmoud Namjoo of Iran, who won gold medal in the bantamweight category of weightlifting.

Aquatics

Diving

In diving, two medal events—3 m springboard and 10 m platform—were included. India and Iran were the only nations that achieved medals. Indian diver, K. P. Thakkar won both the golds and overall India won 4 medals. Iran bagged only one silver and one bronze.

Swimming

In swimming, five nations sent their swimmers to participate in 8 events, 5 of freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

(100 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1500 m, and 4 × 100 m relay) and one of each backstroke (100 m), breaststroke (200 m) and medley

Medley swimming

Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley or by four swimmers as a medley relay...

(3 × 100 m). After these Games, 800 m freestyle and 3 × 100 m medley relay were removed from the swimming calender of Asian Games. Singapore bagged half of gold medals and 2 silvers, while Philippines earned half of total medals including 3 golds, India finished with 6 total medals including one gold of Sachin Nag

Sachin Nag

Sachin Nag was a great swimming champion of India.-Some of the Achievements of Nag's swimming career:London Olympics 1948 selection meet happened at Azad Hind Bag’s National corner...

in 100 m freestyle, which was the first gold of India in Asian Games; two nations left without any medal.

Water polo

In water polo, only two teams—India

India men's national water polo team

The India men's national water polo team is the representative for India in international men's water polo.-Olympic Games:*1900 — Didn't participate*1904 — Didn't participate*1908 — Didn't participate*1912 — Didn't participate...

and Singapore

Singapore men's national water polo team

The Singapore men's national water polo team is the representative for Singapore in international men's water polo. They have won the gold medal at every edition of the Southeast Asian Games, but have yet to win any medals in any higher level competitions....

—participated. The only match of the tournament decided the winner, in which the Indian team defeated Singapore with a goal difference of 6 to 4.

Athletics

Athletics was the only sport in which all the eleven participating nations sent their athletes. The Games featured 24 medal events for men and 9 for women. Japanese women won all the 9 golds of their events and just lost four silvers to India and Singapore, two for each. In men's events, again Japan achieved highest number of golds with count of 11, but here Indian athletes finished just one medal behind to Japan with 10 golds. Toyoko Yoshino, a Japanese woman athlete, won all the golds in three throwing sports— shot put, discus throw, and javelin throw. Lavy Pinto of India was the only man who achieved multiple gold medals, he finished at the top podium in men's 100 m and 200 m sprint

Sprint (race)

Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

running events.

Basketball

In basketball, five Asian teams—Burma, India

India national basketball team

The India men's national basketball team represents India in international men's basketball. It is controlled by Basketball Federation of India....

, Iran

Iran national basketball team

The Iran national basketball team represents Iran in international basketball competitions and is controlled by IR Iran Basketball Federation. It is one of the strongest teams in Asia, and the two time champions of the FIBA Asia Championship.-History:...

, Japan

Japan national basketball team

The Japanese national basketball team represents Japan in international basketball competitions. It is governed by the Japan Basketball Association . Japan is the second leading nation in qualifications to the Asian Basketball Championships...

, and Philippines

Philippines national basketball team

The men's national basketball team of the Philippines represents the Philippines in international basketball competitions. It is managed by its national basketball federation, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas...

—participated. In the matches, the round-robin format

Round-robin tournament

A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...

was employed and on the basis of final points table top three podium places were decided. Philippines team without losing a single match topped the points table and grabbed a gold medal, Japan team finished behind it and won a silver medal, Iranian team with two wins finished third and won a bronze. Host nation India, finished fourth with only single win over Burma, which came last without winning a single match.

Cycling

In cycling, four nations—Burma, India, Iran, and Japan—sent their cyclists. Two disciplines—road race and track race—were contested. Track cycling included—1000 m sprint, 1000 m time trial, and 4000 team-pursuit; for road cycling, 180 km individual road race was contested. The event was widely perceived as being dominated by Japan, who claimed 8 medals in total, including all the four golds out of 11 total overall medals and 4 golds. Indian cyclists won all the rest 3 medals as Burma and Iran failed to achieve a single one.

Football

In football, six Asian teams—Afghanistan

Afghanistan national football team

The Afghanistan national football team is the national team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. The national team was founded in 1922 that joined FIFA in 1948 and the AFC in 1954...

, Burma, India

India national football team

The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...

, Indonesia

Indonesia national football team

The Indonesia national football team represents Indonesia in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Indonesia . Prior to independence in 1945, the team competed as the Dutch East Indies national football team. Under this name, Indonesia was the first Asian team to...

, Iran

Iran national football team

The national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...

, and Japan

Japan national football team

The Japan national football team represents Japan in association football and is operated by the Japan Football Association, the governing body for association football in Japan...

—participated. The gold medal was won by the Indian team, who defeated Iran 1–0 in the final. Japan defeated Afghanistan, 2–0 to win the bronze medal. In semifinals, two matches were played in between Iran and Japan to decide one of the finalists, as first match played on 7 March remained goalless, even match went for overtime; on a next day a replay semifinal match was played in between both the teams in which Iran defeated Japan with a goal difference of 3 to 2.

Weightlifting

In weightlifting, seven countries participated in seven events—bantamweight (56 kg), featherweight (60 kg), lightweight (67.5 kg), middleweight (75 kg), light heavyweight (82.5 kg), middle heavyweight (90 kg), and heavyweight (+90 kg). Iranian weightlifters dominated in all events and claimed 10 medals in total including all the golds, Singapore won two silvers, while both India and Philippines won one silver and one bronze.

Calendar

In the following calendar for the 1951 Asian Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held. The numeral indicates the number of event finals for each sport held that day. On the left, the calendar lists each sport with events held during the Games, and at the right, how many gold medals were won in that sport. There is a key at the top of the calendar to aid the reader.

OC	Opening ceremony	●	Event competitions	1	Event finals	CC	Closing ceremony

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:90%; line-height:1.25em;"
!width=200|March 1951
!width=35|4th
Sun
!width=35|5th
Mon
!width=35|6th
Tue
!width=35|7th
Wed
!width=35|8th
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!width=35|9th
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!width=35|10th
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!width=35|11th
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!width=50|Gold
medals
|- align="center"
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Athletics

Athletics at the 1951 Asian Games

Athletics was contested at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India from March 8 to March 11.-Medal table:-Men:-Women:-External links:* - GBR Athletics...

|
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| bgcolor=#ffcc00 | 4
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Basketball

Basketball at the 1951 Asian Games

|
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Cycling – Road

Cycling at the 1951 Asian Games

Cycling – Track

Cycling at the 1951 Asian Games

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Diving

Diving at the 1951 Asian Games

Diving was contested from March 10 to March 11 at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi, India.-Medal table:-Medalists:-3 m springboard:March 10-10 m platform:March 11-References:*...

|
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Football

Football at the 1951 Asian Games

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Swimming

Swimming at the 1951 Asian Games

Swimming was contested at the 1951 Asian Games in National Stadium Swimming Pool, New Delhi, India from March 5 to March 7, 1951.-Medal table:-Medalists:- References :* * * * - External links :*...

|
| bgcolor=#ffcc00 | 2
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| 8
|- align="center"
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Water polo

Water polo at the 1951 Asian Games

Water polo was played at the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi. Two nations entered the water polo event - India and Singapore.-Medal table:-Medalists:-Results:- References :*...

Weightlifting

Weightlifting at the 1951 Asian Games

|
| bgcolor=#ffcc00 | 1
| bgcolor=#ffcc00 | 2
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| 7
|-
!Total gold medals!! !! 3 !! 6 !! 5 !! 6 !! 4 !! 17 !! 16 !! 57
|-
| Ceremonies || bgcolor=#00cc33 align=center|OC|| || || || || || ||bgcolor=#ee3333 align=center|CC||
|-
!March 1951
!4th
Sun
!5th
Mon
!6th
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!7th
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!8th
Thu
!9th
Fri
!10th
Sat
!11th
Sun
!Gold
medals

Opening ceremony

On 4 March 1951, the First Asian Games were officially opened. The list of the guests included— India's first President

President of India

The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...

Rajendra Prasad

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was an Indian politician and educator. He was one of the architects of the Indian Republic, having drafted its first constitution and serving as the first president of independent India...

, first Prime Minister of India

Prime Minister of India

The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

, cabinet members of Indian Government, diplomatic corps and representatives of participating Asian NOCs. The National Stadium was filled with an estimated 40,000 spectators. A 31-gun salute was fired from the ramparts of the Purana Quila, adjacent to the National Stadium, in the honor of guests and participants of first Asian Games. After a speech by the president of Asian Games Federation, HRH Yadavendra Singh, President Rajendra Prashad officially opened the Games.

Prime Minister Nehru presented his speech from which organisers of the Games adopted the official motto of the Games— "Play the game, in the spirit of the game". Fifteen of the Indian army

Indian Army

The Indian Army is the land based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. With about 1,100,000 soldiers in active service and about 1,150,000 reserve troops, the Indian Army is the world's largest standing volunteer army...

's trumpeters with flags of eleven participating countries on their mastheads gave their performance. In an alphabetical order of English, athletes of the participating countries of the 1951 Asiad entered in the stadium with a march past, by following the custom of Olympics; India entered last as the host nation. The Lighting of the Cauldron was done by the 1924 Olympian of India, Dalip Singh

Dalip Singh (athlete)

Dalip Singh was an Indian track and field athlete who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics and in the 1928 Summer Olympics.He was born in Dolon, Punjab as Sikh and was the father of Balkrishan Singh....

with the help of Asian Games torch, which had been lit by the sun's rays in the Red Fort. Afterwards, Baldev Singh, q member of the Indian athletics squad, recited the athlete's oath on behalf of all competitors at the Games.

Participating nations

The 1951 Asiad featured athletes representing 11 National Olympic Committees. The Organising committee of the Games sent the formal invitations to almost all the Asian countries. China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

was invited, but did not respond before the closing dates for entries. Pakistan denied to participate because of the Kashmir conflict

Kashmir conflict

The Kashmir conflict is a territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region, the northwesternmost region of South Asia....

with India. South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

attended the meeting of Olympic representatives of Asian countries, held on 8 August 1948 during London Olympics and was agreed to send athletes for Games to participate but didn't send any because of the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

and Vietnam

Vietnam

were not invited because of their political systems. Japan

Japan at the 1951 Asian Games

was neither invited to the 1948 Summer Olympics nor to attend the founding meeting of Asian Games Federation held in February 1949 in Delhi, but allowed to participate in these Games, Japan sent 72 member strong team, second largest after the host, participated in all except aquatics events. Burma

Burma at the 1951 Asian Games

Burma, now known as Myanmar, participated in the 1951 Asian Games held in the city of New Delhi, India from March 4, 1951 to March 11, 1951. This country is ranked 8th with 3 bronze medals in this edition of the Asiad....

and India

India at the 1951 Asian Games

sent their contingents in all the events. Iran

Iran at the 1951 Asian Games

Iran participated in the 1951 Asian Games held in the capital city of New Delhi, India from March 4, 1951 to March 11, 1951. This country is ranked 3rd with 8 gold medals in this edition of the Asiad.-Competitors:-Medal table:-Medalists:...

participated in all events, but did not send any female athletes.
Below is a list of all the participating NOCs; the number of competitors per delegation is indicated in brackets:

Medal table

Athletes from eight participating NOCs won at least one medal, five of them winning at least one gold medal. Athletes from Japan earned the highest number of gold medals (24) and the most overall medals (60). Host nation India finished second with 15 golds and 51 overall medals as well as the most bronzes (20). Through 2010

2010 Asian Games

The 2010 Asian Games, also known as the XVI Asiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Guangzhou, China from November 12 to November 27, 2010. Guangzhou was the second Chinese city to host the Games, after Beijing in 1990...

, it would be the best rank achieved by India in medal table in all succeeding Asian Games. Iran finished third with 8 golds and 16 overall medals. Three NOCs, Afghanistan

Afghanistan at the 1951 Asian Games

Afghanistan, participated in the 1951 Asian Games held in the city of New Delhi, India from March 4, 1951 to March 11, 1951. Athletes from Afghanistan failed to secure any medal spot in these Games.-References:...

, Nepal

Nepal at the 1951 Asian Games

Nepal, participated in the 1951 Asian Games held in the city of New Delhi, India from March 4, 1951 to March 11, 1951. Athletes from Nepal failed to secure any medal spot in these Games.-References:...

, and Thailand

Thailand at the 1951 Asian Games

Thailand participated in the 1951 Asian Games in New Delhi on 4–11 March 1951....

failed to earn any medals.
Singaporean swimmer Neo Chwee Kok earned the honour of winning the first gold medal in the history of the Asian Games. He won a total of four golds, all in the free style events (400m, 800m, 1500m, and 4 × 100m relay); becoming the most medalled athlete in this Games.

The ranking in this table is consistent with International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won (in this context, a nation is an entity represented by a National Olympic Committee). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next, and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given; they are listed alphabetically by IOC country code.

A total of 169 medals (57 gold, 57 silver and 55 bronze) were awarded. The total number of bronze medals is less than the total number of gold or silver medals because bronze medals were not awarded in water polo and the team pursuit event of track cycling.
Host nation

To sort this table by nation, total medal count, or any other column, click on the
icon next to the column title.

{|
|-
|1||align=left||| 24 || 21 || 15 || 60
|- style="background:#ccccff"
|2||align=left|*|| 15 || 16 || 20 || 51
|-
|3||align=left||| 8 || 6 || 2 || 16
|-
|4||align=left||| 5 || 7 || 2 || 14
|-
|5||align=left||| 5 || 6 || 8 || 19
|-
|6||align=left||| 0 || 1 || 0 || 1
|-
|7||align=left||| 0 || 0 || 5 || 5
|-
|8||align=left||| 0 || 0 || 3 || 3
|- class="sortbottom"
!colspan=2| Total || 57 || 57 || 55 || 169
|}

Medal distribution

External links

1951 Asian Games at the Olympic Council of Asia website.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Host city selection

Organisation

Venues

Events

Aquatics

Diving

Swimming

Water polo

Athletics

Basketball

Cycling

Football

Weightlifting

Calendar

Opening ceremony

Participating nations

Medal table

Medal distribution

See also

External links