2004 South Asian Games

IX South Asian Games
Host city	Islamabad, Pakistan
Nations participating	7
Events	14 Sports
Officially opened by	Pervez Musharraf

The 2004 South Asian Games(or 9th SAF Games) were held in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2004. Originally scheduled for 2001, these games were postponed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States in which the US later declared Pakistan a Major non-NATO ally.^[1] The slogan for these Games is "Rising Above".

Delay

The games in Islamabad were originally to be held in 2001, but they were inevitably rescheduled (with the location remaining unchanged) for March 29 through April 6, 2003, due to the invasion of Afghanistan. Afghanistan was invited for the games, however Bhutan and India withdrew.^[2]

The entire event was postponed once again due to the war against Iraq. Pakistan retained the organisational authority, despite Sri Lanka being offered to host the games for 2004. Nevertheless, the honour was returned to Sri Lanka as they were given the 10th edition for 2005 instead. The 9th edition was then rescheduled in Pakistan, for March 28 through April 6, 2004. Despite not entering in the previous schedule, Bhutan and India now entered, though the Maldives withdrew.^[3]

Sports

Medal tally

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	India	103	57	22	182
2	Pakistan	58	55	50	163
3	Sri Lanka	17	32	57	106
4	Nepal	7	6	20	33
5	Bangladesh	3	13	24	40
6	Bhutan	1	3	2	6
7	Maldives	0	0	0	0

References

Events of the Olympic Council of Asia Sports NOCs Mascots Continental Asian Games Asian Beach Games Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Asian Winter Games Asian Youth Games Regional Central Asian Games East Asian Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games West Asian Games Defunct Afro-Asian Games2 Asian Indoor Games1 Asian Martial Arts Games1 1 Merged to form Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.2 Inter-continental event involving Asia and Africa.