The scale of the 2026 Asian Games (ASIAD 20) in terms of the number of athletes is even larger than the Summer Olympics, showing the enormous scale and volume of logistics work of the event.
Paris 2024 has the participation of 10,700 athletes. Meanwhile, ASIAD 20 - opening on Saturday in Nagoya (Japan) has more than 11,000 registered athletes.
The actual number may be much larger because the organizers confirmed a sudden increase at the last minute in the number of athletes and officials participating, putting great pressure on the existing housing fund.
The Asian Games were first held in 1951 in New Delhi (India). This year is the 20th Games, after the most recent one held in 2023 in Hangzhou (China) with about 12,000 athletes participating (this one was postponed for 1 year due to the pandemic).
Of course, ASIAD does not gather as many world-class stars as the Olympics. However, the tournament still has big names and many stars from 45 countries and territories.
Many of these countries rarely make an impression at the Olympics, but they have the opportunity to compete for medals at ASIAD, especially many excellent young athletes.
Yu Zidi (swimming, China) – who competed at the World Championships at the age of 12 will turn 14 next October.
An Se-young (badminton, South Korea) - who won a gold medal in women's singles and team events 3 years ago in China, has just successfully defended her China Masters championship for the third consecutive time and also won the world championship at the beginning of this year.
Alex Eala (tennis, Philippines) – chose ASIAD and missed the WTA 1000 China Open despite being punished.
Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (lao throwing, Sri Lanka) - just won the Ultimate Championship at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest (Hungary).
He is even rated higher than the reigning Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan (who only ranked 5th in Budapest).
This Games does not have a concentrated Athletes' Village. About 5,000 athletes and officials will stay on the yacht Costa Serena. Others will stay in hotels and temporary wooden container apartments.
The organizers initially planned to welcome 15,000 athletes and officials. However, by about August, this number had skyrocketed to 17,000.
The Asian Olympic Council said that those who register before the July deadline will be provided with accommodation, while those who register late will have to find accommodation themselves.
Part of the cause of this overload is the addition of new sports such as teqball and padel.
Some sports delegations have a large number of members. China (population 1.4 billion people) sent 815 people, while Hong Kong (China), with a population of only 7.5 million people, also sent a delegation of 580 people to participate.
Japanese media reported that about 10,000 police and security forces will be on duty at the opening ceremony of ASIAD 20 on Saturday (September 19) in Nagoya, with the participation of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.
