1951 Asian Games

The 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Games received names like First Asiad and 1951 Asiad by the president of the organising committee Anthony de Mello. 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. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) member Guru Dutt Sondhi and the Maharaja of Patiala, Rajpramukh of Patiala and East Punjab States Union and president of the IOA HRH Yadavindra Singh played a significant role in the inception of Asian Games and in organising the 1951 Asiad. The organising committee of the Games invited almost all the independent Asian countries of the time except Soviet Union and Vietnam, due to the political structure of those nations.

National Stadium was used as the venue for all the events of the Games. 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 most golds and overall medals, with 24 and 60 respectively; while the host nation India had the 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.