The 1994
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
(), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games () or simply Hiroshima 1994 (), were held from October 2 to 16, 1994, in
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
, Japan. It was the first Asian Games in history to be hosted in a non-capital city. The main theme of this edition was to promote peace and harmony among Asian nations. This concept was used due to the historical fact that the city was the site of the first
atomic bomb attack 49 years earlier. Due to the 1991
Gulf War
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, Iraq was suspended from the games. The games debuted the five Asian former republics of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
There were a total number of 6,828 athletes and officials involved, from 42 countries, with a total number of 34 sports. Debut sports at this edition of the Asiad were
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
,
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
and
modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is an Summer Olympics, Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, Laser pistol (sport), laser pistol shooting, and ...
.
Bidding process
In 1983, two cities in Asia demonstrated interest to host the 1990 Asian Games, one was Beijing in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and the other was
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...
in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. The two interest parties presented their projects before an Olympic Council of Asia committee, during a meeting of the same, during the following year in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, that also served as a previous meeting to evaluate the preparations of the city for the next Asian Games and also for the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
.
Beijing eventually won the right to host the 1990 edition.However, the Japanese authorities were unaware of the Chinese proposal until this date and were surprised by the option for the capital of China. Nevertheless, the Japanese proposal was extremely praised to the point that the OCA invited the city to host the following Games in 1994.
34 votes were needed for selection.
Marketing
Logo
The emblem of the games is an abstract image of a dove, symbol of peace, which resembles the letter 'H' initial as in the host city name Hiroshima, reflecting Hiroshima's desire for peace. The OCA emblem is the symbol of Asian Games as a whole which resembles athlete in motion.
Mascot
The official mascot of the XII Asiad is a pair of white doves. Poppo and Cuccu, male and female respectively, represent peace and harmony - the main theme of this edition of the Asian Games.
They were designed by well-known manga artist and character designer
Susumu Matsushita.
Participating nations
National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are named according to their official IOC designations and arranged according to their official
IOC country codes in 1994.
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Sports
Calendar
Medal table
The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below. The host nation, Japan, is highlighted.
Doping scandal
The Chinese had 11 athletes test positive for banned drugs and
anabolic steroids at the 1994 Asian Games. Less than a month before the Asian Games, a scandal at the
1994 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, when the Chinese had won 12 of the 16 women's swimming titles, with two of those nine world champions among those who tested positive at the Asian games.
References
External links
Hiroshima city university Asian Games page
{{Events at the 1994 Asian Games
A
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
Multi-sport events in Japan
Asian Games by year
Sports competitions in Hiroshima
Asian