1996 Asian Winter Games

III Asian Winter Games

Slogan: ---
Nations participating	17
Athletes participating	453
Events	43 in 8 sports
Opening ceremony	4 February
Closing ceremony	11 February
Officially opened by	Jiang Zemin
Athlete's Oath	---
Torch Lighter	---
Main venue	---

The 3rd Asian Winter Games were held from February 4 to 11, 1996 in Harbin, China.^[1] North Korea was originally scheduled to host the games in 1995, but was not able to honour its commitment.^[2] The International Olympic Committee's decision to hold the Winter and Summer Olympic Games two years apart affected the schedule of the 3rd edition of the Winter Asiad, as it had to be moved to 1996 in order to avoid being held at the same time as the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway. Several NOCs, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, participated in the games for the first time after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, expanding the number of participating countries to 17.^[3]

Mascot

The 1996 Winter Asiad mascot is Doudou, a character inspired by the pea plant.^[4]

Sports

A total of 43 events in eight medal sports were held in the Third Winter Asian Games. Figure skating was reinstated and Freestyle skiing was added to the program.

• Alpine Skiing
• Biathlon
• Cross-Country Skiing
• Figure Skating
• Freestyle Skiing
• Ice Hockey
• Short Track Speed Skating
• Speed Skating

Demonstration sport only:

• Ski Jumping

Participating nations

Names are arranged in alphabetical order by their IOC country codes.

Medal table

      Host nation

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China (CHN)	15	7	15	37
2	Kazakhstan (KAZ)	14	9	8	31
3	Japan (JPN)	8	14	10	32
4	South Korea (KOR)	8	10	8	26
5	Uzbekistan (UZB)	0	1	1	2
Total		45	41	42	128

References