Pakistan to Send 397-Member Contingent to Indonesia

Lahore, MINA — Pakistan will be sending a 397-member (298 athletes and 99 officials) to Indonesia for the Jakarta Asian Games starting there from August 18 to September 2.

Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games,Daily Times reported.

For the first time, the Asian Games will be co-hosted in two cities: the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, which is hosting the Games for the first time since 1962, and Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province.

Events will be held in and around the two cities, including venues in Bandung and province of West Java.

Hanoi, Vietnam was the original host of the game, but withdrew due to financial constraints. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) then awarded the Games to Indonesia.

In all, Pakistan has won 199 medals at the Asian Games starting from 1951: 44 gold, 64 silver and 91 bronze medals.

At 2010 Asian Games at Guangzhou, China, Pakistan won three gold (field hockey, women’s cricket and squash), two silver (squash and wushu) and three bronze (men’s cricket, snooker and kabaddi) medals to score 20th position.

In the last Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea in 2014, Pakistan manage one gold (women’s cricket), one silver (field hockey) and three bronze medals (kabaddi, boxing and wushu) to finish at 23rd position with five medals. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)