Asian Games 2023: curtain falls on triumphant fortnight for hosts China – and Hong Kong
- Chinese Premier Li Qiang watches on as Olympic Council of Asia chief hails Hangzhou event an ‘unprecedented success’
- Bronze medallist Wong Hok-him carries Hong Kong flag into closing ceremony
Chinese Premier Li Qiang helped bring the Asian Games in Hangzhou to a close on Sunday, as thousands of spectators, athletes and volunteers celebrated two emotion-filled weeks of sporting endeavour.
A ceremony once again bursting with colour, and marrying technology with human performance, saluted not only those who had competed on the field and track, in the ring and on the water, but also the host city and Nagoya, Japan, which will come next.
The giant torch bearer from the opening ceremony was back, too, helping to douse the flame, and equally large representations of archers, cyclists, flowers and a digital turf of more than 40,000 illuminated spots provided a visually impressive reminder of the technology behind the Games.
Raja Randhir Singh, the acting president of the Olympic Council of Asia, declared the whole event an “unprecedented success”, and said the council “would never forget” what a perfect host Hangzhou had been.
“The power of sport and the power of the Asian Games is to unite us all in life,” he said. “I would like to thank the Chinese government and the people of Hangzhou for everything you have done.”
It was a resounding triumph for the hosts in all aspects. China dominated the largest Asiad ever, winning an incredible 201 golds, 111 silver and 71 bronze, all while making a stunning return to staging world-class events after the end of the coronavirus pandemic.
Larger than the Paris Olympics will be next year in terms of athletes alone, the Games featured 54 venues that were well attended throughout, and 80,000 people packed into the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium to see the torch extinguished and baton passed onto Japan.
Hideaki Ohmura, the governor of Aichi Prefecture, where the 2026 Games will be held, attended the closing ceremony to accept the torch, but Kawamura Takashi, the controversial mayor of host city Nagoya, stayed away, with his deputy Hideo Nakata taking his place.
In 2012, as the Japanese representative of Nagoya, Takashi caused a storm by denying the Nanking massacre while receiving an official Chinese delegation from Nanjing.
It has been a record-breaking two weeks for Hong Kong’s athletes, and those still in Hangzhou were led into the stadium by Wong Hok-him, a member of the Xiangqi team that won one of the 29 bronze medals in the city’s haul of 53, the most won at a Games.
There were eight golds, and among them for the first time were ones in swimming, women’s road cycling and golf. The 16 silvers fell two short of the tally from Jakarta in 2018, but that scarcely seemed to matter.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the city’s athletes had “lived up to expectations” in winning 53 medals, adding the delegation’s spirit of struggle and hard work had won them “applause and support”.
“I believe all Hong Kong residents are like me, and extremely proud of the brilliance displayed by Hong Kong athletes,” he said, adding he would congratulate them personally on Saturday at a reception organised by the government and the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong.
Vinod Kumar Tiwari, the Olympic Council of Asia’s acting director general, said the Games was “technically one of the finest ever”, pointing to the 97 Games records – one of which fell to Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey in the 200 metres freestyle – 26 Asian records and 13 world records.
Chinese swimmers Zhang Yufei and Qin Haiyang were named the Games MVPs, and in accounting for 11 of the hosts’ 28 golds in the pool, sent a warning of what might be expected next summer.
“We have hosted the most successful Asian Games in history” said Chen Weiqiang, executive secretary general of the organising committee and vice-mayor of Hangzhou.
“It can be said that during the whole 16 days of the competition, the people of Hangzhou basked in a sea of joy,” he said.
