India was one of the first five founding members of the Asian Games Federation on 13 February 1949, in New Delhi. It disbanded on 26 November 1981 and was replaced by the Olympic Council of Asia.[3][4]
Background
India is a member of the South Asian Zone of the Olympic Council of Asia, the governing body of all the sports in Asia, recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the continental association of Asia.[5][6][a] Being a member of South Asian Zone, India also participates in the South Asian Games, sub-regional Games for South Asia.[7]
The Olympic Council of Asia organises five major continental-level multi-sport events: the Asian Summer Games (which are commonly known as the Asian Games), Asian Winter Games, Asian Indoor-Martial Arts Games, Asian Beach Games, and Asian Youth Games. Before 2009, Indoor and Martial Arts were two separate events for indoor and martial arts sports respectively. However, the OCA has since amalgamated them into a single event, the Asian Indoor-Martial Arts Games, which was debuted in 2013 in Incheon, South Korea.[8] As a member of OCA, India is privileged to participate in all these multi-sport events.
India is one of the only seven countries that have competed in all the editions of the Asian Games.[10] The other six are Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand.[11] India has won at least one gold medal at every Asian Games, and always ranked within the top 10 nations of the medal table except in the 1990 Asian Games.[12] After the 2022 Asian Games, India's medal count is as follows:
* Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
India has sent athletes to every celebration of the Asian Winter Games. Through the last revision of the Games in Sapporo and Obihiro in 2017, India has never won a medal in the Winter Games.[15]
India has participated in both the editions of the Asian Beach Games. In the 2008 Games, India won a total of five medals, including three gold, and ranked seventh in the final medal table.[18] Three gold medals were won by India in the 2010 Asian Beach Games in Muscat, Oman, earning the country sixth place in the medal table.[19]
^"Medal Winners – Asian Games"(PDF). olympic.ind.in. Indian Olympic Association. Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.