Tribune News Network
Doha
Recognised as a destination of world’s major sporting events, Doha – the capital city of Qatar – first came into prominence in December 2006 when it hosted the 15th Asian Games. And now, Qatar is aiming to host another edition of these championships in 2030.
According to Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Secretary-General Jassim Rashid al Buenain, Qatar will make a formal expression of interest for the bid of 2030 Asian Games in Lausanne (Switzerland) in January 2020 when the Youth Olympic Games are held there.
Al Buenain expressed Doha’s desire to organise the Asian Games once again during the Olympic Council of Asia’s Executive Board meeting in Doha on Monday.
"This is the start of a new, exciting chapter in Qatar’s sports journey. Regarding major sports events, the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 was a big success with the participation of all 45 National Olympic Committees of the OCA. Almost 10,000 athletes took part in 424 events in 39 sports. Now we are intending to host the 2030 Asian Games,” he said.
OCA President Sheikh Ahmad al Fahad al Sabah also threw his weight behind the Doha bid for the 2030 Asiad by saying: "We have a lot of nice and great memories of Doha. It is always a very suitable city for sports events and we will never forget the Asian Games in 2006 as one of our great Games.
"I am very happy and proud to see a lot of legacy in the city. Doha has become one of the main destinations in the world of sport,” he added.
Uzbekistan capital Tashkent is another city which is interested in the 2030 Asian Games. But the OCA Executive Board awarded the 2025 Asian Youth Games to the country on Saturday, which means Uzbekistan would have to wait until at least 2034 to host the continent’s biggest event.
If Doha wins the right to organise the Asiad, it will a 7th time a country has got the distinction of holding the biggest continental sporting event for two or more times. Bangkok (Thailand) tops the lists with four Asian Games to its credit. Hangzhou (China) and Nagoya (Japan) will play the hosts of the next two Asian Games in 2022 and 2026, respectively.
Some of the major sporting events that Qatar has organised since the 2006 Asian Games include the 2009 ISF World Gymnasiade, the 2010 World Indoor Athletics Championships, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, the 2011 Arab Games, the 2014 FINA Short Course World Championships, the 2015 IHF Handball World Championships, the 2015 Doha 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships, the 2016 UCI Road Cycling World Championships and the 2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
Currently, the IAAF World Athletics Championships 2019 is being held at the Khalifa International Stadium which also saw the grand opening ceremony for the Asian Games in 2006.
It will be followed by the inaugural ANOC World Beach Games in October and the FIFA Club World Cup in December. Besides, the FIFA World Cup is all set to be staged in 2022 and one year later, the FINA World Championships are also scheduled in Qatar.
The 2006 Asian Games turned out to be the best in history of the Olympic Council of Asia. Though Qatar has been hosting international events since early 1990s, the 2006 multiple sports continental event saw heaps of all-round praise, and it is still referred to as a bench mark for the hosts.
Hosts of the Asian Games
Edition Year Host City Host Nation
I 1951 New Delhi India
II 1954 Manila Philippines
III 1958 Tokyo Japan
IV 1962 Jakarta Indonesia
V 1966 Bangkok Thailand
VI 1970 Bangkok Thailand
VII 1974 Tehran Iran
VIII 1978 Bangkok Thailand
IX 1982 New Delhi India
X 1986 Seoul South Korea
XI 1990 Beijing China
XII 1994 Hiroshima Japan
XIII 1998 Bangkok Thailand
XIV 2002 Busan South Korea
XV 2006 Doha Qatar
XVI 2010 Guangzhou China
XVII 2014 Incheon South Korea
XVIII 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Indonesia
XIX 2022 Hangzhou China
XX 2026 Nagoya Japan
Doha
Recognised as a destination of world’s major sporting events, Doha – the capital city of Qatar – first came into prominence in December 2006 when it hosted the 15th Asian Games. And now, Qatar is aiming to host another edition of these championships in 2030.
According to Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Secretary-General Jassim Rashid al Buenain, Qatar will make a formal expression of interest for the bid of 2030 Asian Games in Lausanne (Switzerland) in January 2020 when the Youth Olympic Games are held there.
Al Buenain expressed Doha’s desire to organise the Asian Games once again during the Olympic Council of Asia’s Executive Board meeting in Doha on Monday.
"This is the start of a new, exciting chapter in Qatar’s sports journey. Regarding major sports events, the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 was a big success with the participation of all 45 National Olympic Committees of the OCA. Almost 10,000 athletes took part in 424 events in 39 sports. Now we are intending to host the 2030 Asian Games,” he said.
OCA President Sheikh Ahmad al Fahad al Sabah also threw his weight behind the Doha bid for the 2030 Asiad by saying: "We have a lot of nice and great memories of Doha. It is always a very suitable city for sports events and we will never forget the Asian Games in 2006 as one of our great Games.
"I am very happy and proud to see a lot of legacy in the city. Doha has become one of the main destinations in the world of sport,” he added.
Uzbekistan capital Tashkent is another city which is interested in the 2030 Asian Games. But the OCA Executive Board awarded the 2025 Asian Youth Games to the country on Saturday, which means Uzbekistan would have to wait until at least 2034 to host the continent’s biggest event.
If Doha wins the right to organise the Asiad, it will a 7th time a country has got the distinction of holding the biggest continental sporting event for two or more times. Bangkok (Thailand) tops the lists with four Asian Games to its credit. Hangzhou (China) and Nagoya (Japan) will play the hosts of the next two Asian Games in 2022 and 2026, respectively.
Some of the major sporting events that Qatar has organised since the 2006 Asian Games include the 2009 ISF World Gymnasiade, the 2010 World Indoor Athletics Championships, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, the 2011 Arab Games, the 2014 FINA Short Course World Championships, the 2015 IHF Handball World Championships, the 2015 Doha 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships, the 2016 UCI Road Cycling World Championships and the 2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
Currently, the IAAF World Athletics Championships 2019 is being held at the Khalifa International Stadium which also saw the grand opening ceremony for the Asian Games in 2006.
It will be followed by the inaugural ANOC World Beach Games in October and the FIFA Club World Cup in December. Besides, the FIFA World Cup is all set to be staged in 2022 and one year later, the FINA World Championships are also scheduled in Qatar.
The 2006 Asian Games turned out to be the best in history of the Olympic Council of Asia. Though Qatar has been hosting international events since early 1990s, the 2006 multiple sports continental event saw heaps of all-round praise, and it is still referred to as a bench mark for the hosts.
Hosts of the Asian Games
Edition Year Host City Host Nation
I 1951 New Delhi India
II 1954 Manila Philippines
III 1958 Tokyo Japan
IV 1962 Jakarta Indonesia
V 1966 Bangkok Thailand
VI 1970 Bangkok Thailand
VII 1974 Tehran Iran
VIII 1978 Bangkok Thailand
IX 1982 New Delhi India
X 1986 Seoul South Korea
XI 1990 Beijing China
XII 1994 Hiroshima Japan
XIII 1998 Bangkok Thailand
XIV 2002 Busan South Korea
XV 2006 Doha Qatar
XVI 2010 Guangzhou China
XVII 2014 Incheon South Korea
XVIII 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Indonesia
XIX 2022 Hangzhou China
XX 2026 Nagoya Japan