Kazakhstan winter wonderland comes in from cold
ALMATY: The Asian Winter Games open in Kazakhstan on Sunday with the Central Asian state competing against the likes of China, Japan and South Korea for winter glory as it hosts its biggest ever sporting event.
The best athletes from 27 Asian countries are expected at the seventh edition of the games, with world-class competition awaited in particular in the skating disciplines.
More than 1,100 competitors will contest 65 titles in 11 categories, with the events staged in the country's two biggest cities -- Almaty and Astana -- between January 30 and February 6.
With an eye on one day hosting the Winter Olympics, Kazakh leaders consider the Games to be an important test of the ex-Soviet state's ability to stage the major sports events.
"Kazakhstan's potential and economic capabilities are very strong," said Sports Minister Temirkhan Dosmukhambetov. "We have a serious chance of winning the right to host the Winter Olympics in the near future."
Many of the Asian countries including the continent's sports powerhouses like China, Japan or South Korea are ranking the Asian Games almost as high as the Olympics and are expected to be represented by their leading athletes.
Kazakhstan, which has never hosted major sports events before, decided to stage the Games opening ceremony in the new capital Astana at the newly-built 30,000-seat indoor arena.
A new cycling arena in Astana will host competitions in speed skating and short track, while two of the city's ice stadiums will be a venue for figure skating and men's ice hockey contest.
The organisers decided to split the men's hockey tournament into two divisions to release the event's clear favourites from the meetings with underdogs.
Five best teams -- Kazakhstan, Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan -- will decide the Games' medal winners in the top division's round robin, while nine other countries will play in the premier division mainly for pride.
Meanwhi! le the c ross-country skiing, biathlon, bandy, freestyle skiing, ski jumps, alpine sking and women's ice hockey tournament will be staged in Almaty, the city which is considered to be almost ideal place for holding the winter sports events.
The mountain sports cluster, the biathlon and cross-country ski complex and the venue for ski jumping, which was constructed specially for the Asian Games at the cost of 256 million dollars, are all placed close to the city limits.
The Medeu ice rink, situated over 1,500 metres above sea level and where more than 120 world records in speed skating were set, is also situated not far from the former capital Almaty.
Kazakhstan, exercising their rights as the hosts, added some exotic events into the Games schedule including two rare disciplines -- ski orienteering and bandy.
The hosts are among the favourites in the ski orienteering in Asia, while their women's team leader Olga Novikova was named the world's best athlete last year.
They are also clear favourites for the gold medals in bandy -- a form of ice hockey which is played at a football-pitch sized ice rink -- and will be played in the dramatic setting of Medeu.
At the previous Asian Winter Games at Changchun, China in 2007, the hosts won the overall medal contest earning 19 medals. Japan finished second with 13 medals, while South Korea was third with nine.
This year Kazakh sports authorities are hoping to win up to 25 medals at their home ground to clinch the third place in the Games medal table.
"China and South Korea are the event's clear favourites and our main rivals," Dosmukhambetov has recently said.
"But I believe that we are capable of winning 25 medals. I hope it will be enough to take the third place in the Games' medal table."
The best athletes from 27 Asian countries are expected at the seventh edition of the games, with world-class competition awaited in particular in the skating disciplines.
More than 1,100 competitors will contest 65 titles in 11 categories, with the events staged in the country's two biggest cities -- Almaty and Astana -- between January 30 and February 6.
With an eye on one day hosting the Winter Olympics, Kazakh leaders consider the Games to be an important test of the ex-Soviet state's ability to stage the major sports events.
"Kazakhstan's potential and economic capabilities are very strong," said Sports Minister Temirkhan Dosmukhambetov. "We have a serious chance of winning the right to host the Winter Olympics in the near future."
Many of the Asian countries including the continent's sports powerhouses like China, Japan or South Korea are ranking the Asian Games almost as high as the Olympics and are expected to be represented by their leading athletes.
Kazakhstan, which has never hosted major sports events before, decided to stage the Games opening ceremony in the new capital Astana at the newly-built 30,000-seat indoor arena.
A new cycling arena in Astana will host competitions in speed skating and short track, while two of the city's ice stadiums will be a venue for figure skating and men's ice hockey contest.
The organisers decided to split the men's hockey tournament into two divisions to release the event's clear favourites from the meetings with underdogs.
Five best teams -- Kazakhstan, Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan -- will decide the Games' medal winners in the top division's round robin, while nine other countries will play in the premier division mainly for pride.
Meanwhi! le the c ross-country skiing, biathlon, bandy, freestyle skiing, ski jumps, alpine sking and women's ice hockey tournament will be staged in Almaty, the city which is considered to be almost ideal place for holding the winter sports events.
The mountain sports cluster, the biathlon and cross-country ski complex and the venue for ski jumping, which was constructed specially for the Asian Games at the cost of 256 million dollars, are all placed close to the city limits.
The Medeu ice rink, situated over 1,500 metres above sea level and where more than 120 world records in speed skating were set, is also situated not far from the former capital Almaty.
Kazakhstan, exercising their rights as the hosts, added some exotic events into the Games schedule including two rare disciplines -- ski orienteering and bandy.
The hosts are among the favourites in the ski orienteering in Asia, while their women's team leader Olga Novikova was named the world's best athlete last year.
They are also clear favourites for the gold medals in bandy -- a form of ice hockey which is played at a football-pitch sized ice rink -- and will be played in the dramatic setting of Medeu.
At the previous Asian Winter Games at Changchun, China in 2007, the hosts won the overall medal contest earning 19 medals. Japan finished second with 13 medals, while South Korea was third with nine.
This year Kazakh sports authorities are hoping to win up to 25 medals at their home ground to clinch the third place in the Games medal table.
"China and South Korea are the event's clear favourites and our main rivals," Dosmukhambetov has recently said.
"But I believe that we are capable of winning 25 medals. I hope it will be enough to take the third place in the Games' medal table."
Comments