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Indonesia confirmed as host of next edition

Last Updated 19 September 2014, 18:31 IST

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) executive board on Friday approved Indonesia as hosts for the 2018 Asian Games which faces a growing battle to find venues because of the cost.

The continent’s sports leaders had to find a quick replacement after Vietnam said in April that it could no longer afford to stage the next Asian Games.

“Today it has been approved by the EB (executive board) that in 2018 will be the next Asian Games in Jakarta in Indonesia,” said council president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.The body’s general assembly should rubber stamp the decision on Saturday. But Sheikh Amad stressed that an earlier special assembly had given him “the authority to decide and find the replacement to Vietnam.”

Ade Lukman, an Indonesian Olympic Committee official, said the country was delighted. “Being selected to host the Asian Games is an honour for the Indonesian people,” he told AFP.

Vietnam had originally been picked to host the 18th Games in 2019, but withdrew blaming fallout from an economic crisis. Indonesia immediately became favourites to take on the showpiece event with New Delhi, unable to give the necessary guarantees on time.

But Jakarta told the OCA that if they were to host the Asiad, it would have to in 2018, because presidential elections are scheduled for 2019. In its original bid for the event, Indonesia put forward the country’s second-biggest city, Surabaya, as the host.

However officials have now decided to make the capital Jakarta the main host city, with events also planned for other cities, including Palembang and Bandung.Indonesia last staged the Asian Games in 1962 in Jakarta. 

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(Published 19 September 2014, 18:31 IST)

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