The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian

multi-sport A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...

event celebrated in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 athletes across the continent. The football event commenced on 30 November 1998, a week earlier than the opening ceremony. Bangkok was awarded the right on September 26, 1990, defeating

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and Jakarta,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to host the Games. It was the first city to hosted the Asian Games for four times, the last three editions it hosted were in 1966, 1970 and 1978. The event was opened by Bhumibol Adulyadej, the king of Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium. The final medal tally was led by China, followed by

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, Japan and the host

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Thailand set a new record with 24 gold medals. In addition, Japanese Athletics

Koji Ito is a retired Japanese track and field sprinter and Japan's fourth-fastest record holder of 100m sprint with a time of 10.00 seconds. He held the 100 metres Japanese national record between December 1998 and September 2017. He is a ...

was announced as the most valuable player (MVP) of the Games. For Thailand, it was considered one of its remarkable achievement in sports development throughout the country's modern history.

Bidding process

Three cities bid for the Games. All three, Taipei (Chinese Taipei), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Bangkok (Thailand) submitted their formal bid in 1989. It was the first time that Thailand has presented a bid for host the Asian Games, as Bangkok was the default host of previous three games. The vote was held on September 27, 1990, at the China Palace Tower Hotel in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, during the 9th

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. The headquarters ...

(OCA) General Assembly held during the

1990 Asian Games ) , Nations participating = 36 , Athletes participating = 6,122 , Events = 308 in 27 sports , Opening ceremony = 22 September 1990 , Closing ceremony = 7 October 1990 , Officially opened by = Yang Shangkun , O ...

. All 37 members voted, with voting held in secret ballot. It was announced that Bangkok won an Asian Games bid process for the first time. Though the vote results were not released, was leaked that Bangkok won by 20-10-7. Bangkok became the first city to have staged the Asian Games for four editions, following 1966,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and 1978, and this was the first time that the city have put a bid for the event. 19 votes were needed for selection.

Development and preparation

Costs

According to

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

news report, preparations for the games including the construction and renovation of three main stadiums and an athletes' village, cost an estimated 6 billion

Thai baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; sign: ฿; code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. SWIFT ranked the Thai baht as the 10th-mos ...

(US$167 million).

Venues

;Hua Mark * Rajmangala Stadium (Opening & Closing ceremonies, Football) * Indoor Stadium (Sepak Takraw) * Velodrome (Cycling track) * Shooting Range (Shooting) * Clay Target Shooting Range (Clay Target Shooting) ;Muang Thong Thani * IMPACT Arena (Boxing) * IMPACT Hall 1-5 (Billiards & Snooker, Gymnastics, Volleyball) * Thunder Dome (Weightlifting) * SCG Stadium (Rugby, Football) * Tennis Centre (Tennis) ;Thammasat University (Rangsit Centre) *

Main Stadium Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *" Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centurie ...

(Athletics and Football) * Gymnasium 1 (Basketball, Judo, Wrestling) * Gymnasium 2 (Badminton) * Gymnasium 3 (Handball) * Gymnasium 4 (Fencing) * Gymnasium 5 (Table Tennis) * Gymnasium 6 (Wushu) * Gymnasium 7 (Karate, Taekwondo) * Tennis Court (Soft Tennis) * Field 1 (Archery) * Field 2 (Softball) * Aquatic Center (Aquatics) * Athletes Village ;Other venues ;

and Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya *

Kasetsart University Kasetsart University ( th, มหาวิทยาลัยเกษตรศาสตร์; ), commonly known and referred to as Kaset or KU, is a public research university in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest university in Thailand. It ...

(Hockey) * PS Bowling Bangkapi (Bowling) * Suphachalasai Stadium (Football) *

Thai Army Sports Stadium The Royal Thai Army Stadium ( th, สนามกีฬากองทัพบก) is a multi-purpose stadium on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in the Phaya Thai of north Bangkok, Thailand. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium ...

(Rugby) *

Thai-Japanese Stadium The Thai-Japanese Stadium ( Japanese: タイ・ジャパニーズ・スタジアム; th, ศูนย์เยาวชนกรุงเทพมหานคร), also called Thai-Japanese Bangkok Youth Center ( is a multi-purpose stadium in D ...

(Football) * Thupatemee Stadium (Football) ; Chiang Mai *

700th Anniversary Stadium The 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium ( th, สนามเชียงใหม่ 700 ปี) is a multi-purpose stadium in Chiang Mai, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, built to host the 1995 Southeast Asian Games and to commemorate the 7 ...

(Football) ;

Chonburi Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...

* Ambassador Sport Center (Squash) * Ao-Dongtarn Jomtien Beach (Sailing) * Jomtian beach (Beach Volleyball) * Map Prachan Reservoir (Canoeing, Rowing) ;

Nakhon Nayok Nakhon Nayok City is a capital of Nakhon Nayok province in the central region of Thailand. The city (''thesaban mueang'') covers ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ('' amphoe'' ...

Srinakharinwirot University Srinakharinwirot University (abbr: SWU; th, มหาวิทยาลัยศรีนครินทรวิโรฒ; abbr: มศว) is a public university in Bangkok, Thailand. Founded in 1949, the university was the first upper-educati ...

(Ongkarak Campus) (Handball, Softball, Kabaddi) ;

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima ( th, นครราชสีมา, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, known as the "big four of Isan". The city is commonly known as Korat (, ), a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat of ...

* Khao Yai Rimtarn Resort (Cycling Mountain bike) * Phahonyothin Road -(Cycling Road) ; Nakhon Sawan * Nakhon Sawan Province Central Stadium (Football) ; Pathum Thani * Alpine Golf and Sports Club (Golf) * Queen Siritkit Sport Complex (Baseball, Hockey) ;

Saraburi Saraburi City (''thesaban mueang'') is the provincial capital of Saraburi Province in central Thailand. In 2020, it had a population of 60,809 people, and covers the complete ''tambon'' Pak Phriao of the Mueang Saraburi district. Location Sa ...

* Fort Adhisorn Riding Club (Equestrian) ;

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* Sisaket Province Central Stadium (Football) ; Songkhla * Suwannawong Gymnasium Hat Yai (Sepak Takraw) * Tinasulanon Stadium (Football) ; Suphan Buri * Municipal Gymnasium (Basketball) * Suphan Buri Province Central Stadium (Football) ;

Surat Thani Surat Thani ( th, สุราษฎร์ธานี, ) is a city in Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. It lies south of Bangkok. It is the capital of Surat Thani Province. The city has a population of 1 ...

* Surat Thani Province Central Stadium (Football) ; Trang * Trang Province Central Stadium (Football) * Municipal Gymnasium (Sepak Takraw)

Marketing

Emblem

The Official Emblem of the 13th Asian Games elements from Asia in general and

in particular. It is based on the letter A, representing Asia and Athletes. The Maha Chedi, or

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

shape, represents Thailand, in particular. The pinnacle of the Maha Chedi symbolises the knowledge, intelligence and athletic prowess of Thailand's forefathers, which are second to none. The top is part of the OCA logo.

Mascot

The official

Mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

of the 13th Asian Games is an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

named Chai-Yo () (a Thai word meaning pleasure, gladness, success, unity and happiness) whose name is a phrase shouted by a group of people to show their unity and solidarity. In Thailand, the elephant is a very distinctive animal which has lived with its people for many generations and is universally admired for its strengths and nobility.

The Games

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony started at 17:00

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

on December 6, 1998. It was attended by

King of Thailand The monarchy of Thailand (whose monarch is referred to as the king of Thailand; th, พระมหากษัตริย์ไทย, or historically, king of Siam; th, พระมหากษัตริย์สยาม) refers to the c ...

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...

President of the International Olympic Committee The president of the International Olympic Committee is head of the executive board that assumes the general overall responsibility for the administration of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the management of its affairs. The IOC E ...

Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch (Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh P ...

and President of the OCA Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah. The nations entered in alphabetic order of their

country names The International Organization for Standardization (International Organization for Standardization, ISO) created and maintains the ISO 3166, ISO 3166 standard – ''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions''. The I ...

in Thai during the parade of nations.

Participating Nations

National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are named according to their official IOC designations and arranged according to their official

IOC country codes The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses three-letter abbreviation country codes to refer to each group of athletes that participate in the Olympic Games. Each geocode usually identifies a National Olympic Committee (NOC), but there are s ...

in 1998. was not attending due to the fact that the tournament period overlaps with Ramadan and that there is a big national event in the country, but it was pointed out that it was because diplomatic relations between Thailand were deteriorated by the

Blue Diamond Affair The Blue Diamond Affair is a series of unresolved crimes and embittered diplomatic relations triggered by the 1989 theft of gems belonging to the House of Saud by a Thai employee. The affair has soured relations between Saudi Arabia and Thailand fo ...

. However paraded in the Opening Ceremony.

Sports

* Aquatics ** (4) ** (32) ** (2) ** (1) * (4) * (45) * (7) * (1) * (2) * (10) * (12) * (12) * (10) * (15) * (6) * (10) * (2) * (2) * (4) * (16) * (2) * (14) * (1) * (11) * (11) * (2) * (16) * (6) * (34) * (1) * (4) * (2) * (7) * (16) * (7) *Volleyball ** (2) ** (2) * (15) * (16) * (11) Demonstration * (2) * (?)

Medal table

The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below. The host nation, Thailand, is highlighted.

References

External links

1998 Asian Games official website

1998 Asian Games result system

Asian Games Language Selection Site
Asian Games Asian Games Asian Games Asian Games Summer Asian Games by year Asian Games