2006 South Asian Games

X South Asian Games
Host city Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nations participating 8
Athletes participating 1554
Events 197 in 20 Sports
Opening ceremony 2006 August 18
Closing ceremony 2006 August 28
Officially opened by Mahinda Rajapaksa
Main Stadium Sugathadasa Stadium

The 2006 South Asian Games (also known as 2006 SAF Games or 10th SAF Games) were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from August 18 to August 28, 2006 in the Sugathadasa Stadium with more than 2000 sportspersons competing in the record 20 disciplines of Sports.

The 10th edition of SAF Games also marked the debut for Afghanistan.[1] Another highlight of 2006 SAF Games was unprecedented high levels of security for officials & players amid violent clashes between the Sri Lankan Government’s troops and LTTE.[2] Earlier in 2005, the Games,originally scheduled to be held in 2005, had been postponed after a tsunami wave devastated the region.[3]

Contents

Mascots

Pora-Pol (an ancient sport of coconut fighting) and Wali kukula (a jungle fowl) were chosen as the official logo and mascot for the 2006 SAF Games, respectively. However they drew some criticism for the lack of creativity particularly in the case of mascot.

Sports

The 2006 South Asian Games encompassed a record 20 disciplines with hockey being reintroduced after several years.

Participating nations

athletes from eight countries competed at 2006 South Asian Games.[4]

Medal table

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1  India 118 59 37 214
2  Pakistan 46 71 67 184
3  Sri Lanka 37 63 78 178
4  Nepal 15 14 31 60
5  Afghanistan 6 7 18 31
6  Bangladesh 3 15 32 50
7  Bhutan 0 3 10 13
8  Maldives 0 0 0 0

Schedule

OC Opening ceremony Event competitions 1 Event finals CC Closing ceremony
August 14th
Mon
15th
Tue
16th
Wed
17th
Thu
18th
Fri
19th
Sat
20th
Sun
21st
Mon
22nd
Tue
23rd
Wed
24th
Thu
25th
Fri
26th
Sat
27th
Sun
28th
Mon
Events
Ceremonies OC CC
Archery 2 2 4
Athletics 10 14 10 1 35
Badminton 5 2 7
Boxing 11 11
Cycling 2 2 2 6
Field hockey 1 1
Football 1 1
Judo 6 5 11
Kabbadi 2 2
Karate 4 2 2 3 3 14
Rowing 4 3 7
Shooting 2 4 6 2 6 4 2 26
Squash 2 2 4
Swimming 7 7 7 8 9 38
Table tennis 2 2 1 2 2 7
Taekwondo 5 5 3 13
Volleyball 2 2
Weightlifting 2 2 2 2 8
Wrestling 4 3 7
Wushu 12 6
Total events 5 13 13 22 42 19 18 32 42 9 3 218
Cumulative total 5 18 31 53 95 114 132 164 206 215 218
August 14th
Mon
15th
Tue
16th
Wed
17th
Thu
18th
Fri
19th
Sat
20th
Sun
21st
Mon
22nd
Tue
23rd
Wed
24th
Thu
25th
Fri
26th
Sat
27th
Sun
28th
Mon
Events

Highlights

Doping

The 10th SAF games couldn’t be freed from infamous trend of steroid-using by athletes to boost their performance, as a group of athletes were reportedly tested positive for the use of banned performance enhancing substance. Prominent athletes alleged to test positive included Nepal’s double gold-medalist Rajendra Bhandari, Pakistani boxers Nauman Karim & Mohammed Lassi and Sri Lanka’s Jani Chathurangani Silva.[5].An Indian athlete was also said to have failed a dope test.[6]

References

External links