Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung announced in April that the country would withdraw from hosting the 2019 Asian Games, citing a lack of preparedness and concerns that the event would not be financially viable. 

The Vietnamese capital of Hanoi was awarded the Games in November 2012 ahead of the Indonesian city of Surabaya. However, following a crisis meeting with officials, Dung confirmed that Vietnam would relinquish its hosting rights in order not to damage its reputation.

Vietnam’s decision has since opened up a bidding race for the Asian Games, with the 2014 edition due to commence in Incheon, Korea on Friday. Sheikh Ahmad said that the appointment of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta as the new host will be formally ratified at an OCA General Assembly meeting in Korea on Saturday. 

“In less than one month, Indonesia was there ready to host it,” he told the Reuters news agency. “We have solved the issues with other cities and we have a good agreement (so) let’s leave it to Indonesia because it was the competitor to Vietnam at the last vote. So Indonesia has to have the priority to host.”

However, the 18th Asian Games will be brought forward a year to 2018 because the Indonesian presidential election will take place in 2019. The date change still has to be approved by the general assembly, but Sheikh Ahmad said he expected the following edition would be held in 2023 then every four years to avoid clashing with the winter Olympics and football’s Fifa World Cup.

“It was decided the Asian Games would move from 2014 and 2018, to 2014 and 2019 because it would be good preparation for the Olympics,” he said. “But because Indonesia will have a presidential election in 2019 the requirement was to host it in 2018, which we don’t mind... but we have to give it to the general assembly to approve.”

Jakarta previously staged the Asian Games in 1962, and Indonesia held the Southeast Asian Games in 2011. The Chinese city of Guangzhou (pictured) hosted the most recent edition of the Asian Games in 2010.

Last month, the OCA’s vice-president Wei Jizhong endorsed Indonesia’s readiness to host the Asian Games.

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With the extended timeframe for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) now passed, any hope of a bid from New Delhi for the 2019 Asian Games has now faded. 

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Thursday told the IOA that they have a “couple of days” to submit the bid documents required for New Delhi to be considered to host the Asian Games in 2019. 

That window of opportunity has now closed, the IOA confirmed on Monday. 

To submit a bid, the IOA needed full political backing and had requested an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was only elected in May. 

"We failed in our efforts to meet the Prime Minister,” IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta told Reuters. 

The IOA had sought a 15-day extension, but this request was rejected by the OCA.

"Honestly, the time was too short. There's no one to blame ... neither the government nor the IOA. We tried our best but it was not enough.

"There is no more chance of bidding for the 2019 Asian Games."

The host of the 2019 Asian Games was originally elected to be Hanoi at an OCA meeting in Macau in November 2012. However, the Vietnamese government withdrew Hanoi from hosting the event, leaving the OCA seeking a replacement. The deadline for applying for candidacy for the Games was set as 1 July 2014.

New Delhi had already put in a bit for the 2014 Asian Games, which takes place from 19 September to 4 October, but it lost out to the South Korean city of Incheon. The OCA is due to announce the new host city of the 2019 Asian Games on 20 September, 2014.

The Indonesian capital of Jakarta is on track to be named as the surrogate host city for the 2018 Asian Games, according to various media reports coming from the country. 

The Vietnamese city of Hanoi was originally selected as the host by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) until the government withdrew from the Games in April citing concerns over financial viability and a lack of preparation.

New Delhi was originally considering a bid to host the Games as a replacement for Hanoi but missed a deadline set by the OCA to enter their bid. Various Asian media organisations are now reporting the OCA has settled on Jakarta as the best replacement for Hanoi following inspections of the city by honorary vice president Wei Jizhong. 

Jizhong has reportedly said that Jarkata’s infrastructure already meets the set requirements and is almost ready to host the Games but may co-host the event with the city of Palembang. 

This is despite previous claims by the Jakarta Deputy Governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, that the city would require the construction of mass and light rapid transit systems, loop lines for electric trains, six toll roads and improvements to the city’s public bus network before it will be ready to host the games.

However, Jakarta already has a range of sporting venues built in the city and surrounding regions meaning only a limited amount of large scale construction work would be required to hold the event.

Indonesian Olympic Committee chairperson Rita Subowo was joined by Jizhong on the inspection of the country’s potential Games facilities which included Gelora Bandung Lautan Api stadium which could be used for the football tournament. 

Subowo said that other cities in the West Java and Depok regions of the country would be needed in order to host the Games but she remained optimistic about Indonesia’s potential to host the event and told reporters that Jakarta is close to meeting the criteria set in order to host the Games.

HOST CITY asked the OCA for more details about the bidding process and other candidates to host the Games, but the organisation declined to comment.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA)’s request for a 15-day extension to Tuesday’s deadline for bidding for the Asian Games has been refused. 

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has instead told the IOA that they have a “couple of days” to submit the bid documents required for New Delhi to be considered to host the Asian Games in 2019.

Hanoi was originally selected as the host of the 2019 Asian Games at an OCA meeting in Macau in November 2012. However, the Vietnamese government withdrew Hanoi from hosting the event, leaving the OCA seeking a replacement. 

The deadline for applying for candidacy for the Games was set as 1 July 2014. The IOA wrote to the OCA requesting a 15-day extension on this deadline, a request that was refused in a letter replying to the IOA. 

“I regret to inform you that due to the extreme shortage of time, it is impossible for the OCA to extend the deadline any further,” said OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam in a letter to IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta.

“Within this two month period we need to establish the evaluation team that will visit the bidding cities and submit its report to the OCA Executive Board on 19th September. 

"However, if you are able to still submit the guarantees within the next couple of days, OCA is willing to consider IOA's bid very positively."

Gaining the necessary approval from the various government ministries involved in such a short space of time will be a major challenge for India.

The Indonesian city of Surabaya, which lost out to Hanoi in the original bidding process, is no longer a candidate as it is hosting the 2021 Asian Youth Games. 

However, a bid from another Indonesian city is considered mostly likely to win the race to host the 2019 Asian Games. On a visit to Jakarta in May, the OCA’s honorary life vice-president Wei Jizhong said "I don't think other competitors can offer better conditions than Indonesia for the time being."

Singapore, Malaysia and possibly Qatar are also said to have expressed interest in hosting the 2019 Asian Games.

The OCA is due to announce the new host city on 20 September, 2014.

[Source: OCA] The Olympic Council of Asia and Alisports of China has announced a strategic partnership to bring the electronic sports video game phenomenon to the official sports programme of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

eSports, which is enjoyed by millions of youngsters around Asia and the world, has already been added to the OCA’s 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, this September as a demonstration sport.

It will also feature in next year’s 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, again as a demonstration sport. By the time of the 19th Asian Games in 2022, however, eSports will become an official medal sport – reflecting the rapid development and popularity of this new form of sports participation among the youth.

Alisports, which was established in 2015 as the Alibaba Sports Group by the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, will work closely with the OCA to develop the marketing of eSports.

The OCA President, HE Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, said: “The Olympic Council of Asia has constantly been committed to the heritage, development and improvement of Asian sports, and we are extremely pleased about the strategic partnership with Alisports. 

“We look forward to further collaboration with Alisports in regards to digital sports concepts along with sporting events. We are sure that the extensive organising capabilities of Alisports, and their experience in e-sports, will assist the OCA in developing all sports.”

Alisports founder and CEO Mr. Zhang Dazhong said: “I would like to thank the Olympic Council of Asia for their faith in Alisports. Together we will work on providing the sponsors of the Asian Games with more opportunities and maximising the market value, so that the OCA enjoys optimum benefits and advantages.”

eSports to be contested at the 5th AIMAG this September include FIFA 2017, MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) and RTA (Real Time Attack) gaming types.

[Source: OCA]