Asian Games 2010: Guangzhou All Set

Finally it is time. The Asian Games 2010 (Guangzhou, China) is all set to open today. 45 countries from the largest continent on the planet will be vying for the 476 gold medals at stake. This will be spread across 42 different sports for a period of 16 days, making this the largest Asian Games ever. Even the Olympic Games has fewer competitive events as compared to this. Guangzhou being the host city, 3 other cities (Foshan, Shanwei and Dongguan) will also be co-hosting some of the events at this Asiad.

It is believed that the Asian Games 2010 is being staged at a cost of around US $17 billion. Athletes will be competing across 53 venues and will also be in a position to practice at another 17 training venues. The opening ceremony will begin around 20:00 local time (CT 6:00, ET 7:00, GMT 12:00). It will include the usual team parade, but the program that everyone is waiting to witness is the mysterious lightning ceremony. 5 new sports, including cricket will be making a debut in the XVI Asiad, while the popular competition of bodybuilding has been dropped due to judging problems and controversies at the previous Asian Games.

In the previous edition held at Doha, China were way ahead of all rivals in terms of medals, with a haul of nearly 300 medals, which included a whopping 150 golds. Korea were second, but way behind with just 51 gold medals. Japan were close behind at third with 49 golds to their credit. In all, 37 countries were able to win at least one medal in those games. So folks, check out the schedule and your local listings, and get set to enjoy one of the greatest sporting events in Asia, the Asian Games 2010 - Guangzhou.