Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday declared the 19th Asian Games open in Hangzhou, after an environmentally friendly opening ceremony paving the way for an event that will see the participation of 12000 athletes.

Chinese President said: “I declare the Hangzhou 19th Asian Games open.” The opening ceremony took place in an atmosphere dominated by the use of environmentally friendly technology where China welcomed the delegations participating in the session from 45 countries.

Qatar is participating in the tournament with a delegation of 185 male and female athletes competing in 27 sports: archery, athletics, basketball, boxing, chess, cycling, e-sports, equestrian, football, fencing, gymnastics, golf, handball, jiu-jitsu, karate, windsurfing, squash, swimming, tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, table tennis, volleyball, 33 basketball, beach volleyball, weightlifting, and bow and arrow.

Athletes from 45 countries are participating in the tournament, competing for 481 gold medals that will be distributed in 40 different sports, nine of which will qualify for the Summer Olympic Games scheduled in the French capital, Paris, next year.

This is the third time that China has hosted the Asian Games after Beijing 1990 and Guangzhou 2010. The tournament was scheduled for the summer of 2022, but was postponed to this year due to the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Qatar won 13 medals including 6 gold medals in addition to 4 silver medals and 3 bronze medals in the last Asian Games which were held in Jakarta and Palembang Indonesia in 2018.

Source: Qatar News Agency