West Asian Games
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The West Asian Games were first organised in Tehran, Iran and were considered the first of their kind. The success of the Games led to the creation of the West Asian Games Federation (WAGF) and the intention of hosting the Games every 2 years.
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[edit] 1st West Asian Games
The 1st West Asian Games was held from 19 to 28 November 1997 in Tehran, Iran and had around 850 athletes and 236 team officials participating from 10 countries in 15 sports. Initially only men were allowed to participate.
The nations that participated were: Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Yemen.
The official sports programme contained Athletics, Aquatics, Badminton, Basketball, Boxing, Fencing, Football, Judo, Karate, Shooting, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling.
[edit] 2nd West Asian Games
The 2nd West Asian Games were initially expected to be organised in Qatar in 1999, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the Games were not held. The Games were then expected to be held in Lebanon in 2001, but were then cancelled and relocated to Kuwait. The 2nd West Asian Games were expected to be held from 20 to 30 October 2001, but due to armed conflicts in the region, they had to be postponed to 3 to 12 April 2002.
Twelve countries participated, among them Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Iraq did not participate and no competitions were held for women.
The nations competed in nine sports: Aquatics, Athletics, Basketball, Fencing, Football, Gymnastics, Handball, Karate and Squash.
[edit] 3rd West Asian Games
The 3rd West Asian Games were to be held from 7 to 17 April 2003 in Damascus, Syria; however they were postponed and then cancelled. On 4 April 2002 the West Asian Games Federation decided that the Games would be held every four years, instead of two, namely one year before the Asian Games.
The Third West Asian Games was held from the 1st to 10 December 2005 in Doha, Qatar and involved over 1,200 athletes from 13 nations participating in 11 sports. Women participated in the West Asian Games for the first time.
The Iraqi National football team won the men's football tournament after beating Syria in a penalty shootout after the game finished 2-2 after extra time. Iraq goalkeeper Noor Sabri was the hero.
West Asian Games Football Championship 2005 Champion: Iraq
