1951 Asian Games

First Asian Games

Logo of the 1951 Asian Games
Host city	New Delhi, India
Motto	Play the game in the spirit of the game
Nations	11
Athletes	489
Events	57
Opening	4 March 1951
Closing	11 March 1951
Opened by	Rajendra Prasad (President of India)
Athlete's Oath	Baldev Singh
Torch lighter	Dalip Singh
Main venue	National Stadium
Manila 1954 →

The 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games (Hindi: प्रथम एशियाई खेल), was a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951.^[1] The Games received names like First Asiad, 1951 Asiad, and New Dehli 1951 (Hindi: नई दिल्ली 1951). A total of 489 athletes representing 11 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 57 events from eight sports and discipline. The Games was the successor of the Far Eastern Games and the revival of the Western Asiatic Games. The 1951 Asiad were originally scheduled to be held in 1950, but postponed until 1951 due to delays in preparations. On 13 February 1949, the Asian Games Federation was formally established in Delhi, with Delhi unanimously announced as the first host city of the Asian Games.

The games were managed by a strong Organizing Committee (see Organization below).

Countries invited included almost all the independent Asian countries of the time except Soviet Union (as they were part of the European Olympic Committees) and Vietnam, due to the political structure of those nations.

National Stadium was the venue for all events. The official logo of the First Asiad depicted a bright sun in red with 16 rays and a white circle in the middle of the disc of the sun and eleven rings, representing each participating nation, on a white background, symbolising peace.

Japanese athletes won the 24 gold, 21 silver, and 15 bronze medals, respectively; while the host nation India had 15 golds and 51 overall medals with most bronzes (20) and finished at second spot in a medal table. The next Asian Games organised by India were the 1982 Asian Games, some 31 years later.^[2]