1951 Asian Games - Host City Selection

Host City Selection

On 12 and 13 February 1949, a meeting was organised at the Patiala House, in Delhi, in between the representatives of nine Asian National Olympic Committees. The framework of the meeting was set up in another meeting held on 8 August 1948 during the Second London Olympics, which was called by the Indian Olympic Committee's representative Guru Dutt Sondhi. The meeting was chaired by the Yadavindra Singh, president of the Indian Olympic Association. On the last day, Asian Games Federation (AGF) was formalised and a draft constitution was accepted. HRH Yadavindra Singh and Guru Dutt Sodhi were respectively elected as the first president and the secretary of the federation. The five charter members forming the federation were Afghanistan, Burma, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The decision was made to organise the Asian Games Championships in four-year intervals since the inception of the Games in Delhi in February, 1950. HRH Yadavindra Singh, who also became the president of the organisation committee of Games sent the formal invitation to several other Asian countries to participate in the 1950 Asian Games.