: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) signed a host-city contract with Nanjing, China, for the second Asian Youth Games in 2013, at its 29th General Assembly here on Saturday.
The President of OCA, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah also signed the host-city contracts with Phuket, Thailand, for the fourth Asian Beach Games in 2014 and with Nha Trang, Vietnam for the fifth Asian Beach Games in 2016. Incidentally, Nanjing will host the Youth Olympic Games in 2014. The first edition was held in Singapore in August.
The Asian Beach Games was first held at Bali, Indonesia, in 2008, and has reportedly proven attractive for its low cost of organisation and promotion of tourism. The second Asian Beach Games is scheduled to be held in Oman from December 8 to 16, and the third edition in Haiyang, Shandong Province, China, in June 2012.
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The host of the Asian Indoor/Martial Arts Games in 2013 was yet to be decided. Incheon, Bahrain and Kaohsiung have expressed interest to host the event.
No decision yet
Meanwhile, the OCA General Assembly could not decide on the seven non-Olympic sports to be staged in the next Asian Games in Incheon in 2014.
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Reduced to 35
The total number has been reduced to 35, with 28 Olympic sports that figure in the Olympic schedule for Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The organisers of the Incheon Games had proposed baseball, bowling, kabaddi, sepak takraw, softball, squash and wushu, but the OCA was keen to retain cricket and karate. The final decision will be made during the Executive Board meeting at the second Asian Beach Games in Muscat in December.
The OCA presented five OCA Merit Awards to individuals for outstanding contributions to the Asian sports movement. The honorary life President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Dr. B. Sivanthi Adityan, who was the Chairman of the OCA Finance Committee, received the award in the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge and Chinese Olympic Committee President, Liu Peng.
The four others to receive the award were Zhang Guangning, Executive Secretary-General of the Guangzhou Asian Games, Yu Zaiqing, IOC Vice-President, for his role in the 2007 Asian Winter Games in Changchun apart from the current Asian Games, Dr Phouthong Seng Akom, President of Laos Olympic Committee, for the 25th South East Asian Games last year, and Hoang Tuan Anh, Minister of Sport, Vietnam, for the Asian Indoor Games last year.
In another presentation, the Sheikh Fahad Hiroshima Science Award was given to Professor Li Guoping, Director of the National Institute of Sports Medicine who is also the President of Beijing Sports Medicine Hospital, and the Chief Medical Officer of the Chinese Olympic Committee.