IX South Asian Games
Host cityPakistan Islamabad, Pakistan
Motto"Rising Above"
OrganizerPakistan Olympic Association
Edition9
Nations8
Debuting countries Afghanistan
Events15 Sports
Opening29 March 2004
Closing7 April 2004
Opened byPervez Musharraf,
President of Pakistan
Main venueJinnah Stadium
Websitehttps://ocasia.org/games/26-islamabad-2004.html

The 2004 South Asian Games, officially known as the IX South Asian Federation Games, were held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 29 March to 7 April 2004. Originally scheduled for 2001, the games were postponed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States in which the US later declared Pakistan a major non-NATO ally.[1][2][3] The slogan for the Games was Rising Above. For the first time, Afghanistan participated in the games.

Postponements

The games in Islamabad were originally to be held from 6 to 15 October 2001, but they were inevitably rescheduled (with the location remaining unchanged) for 30 March 2002 due to the invasion of Afghanistan. They were postponed again due to tensions between Pakistan and India. They were the set to be held from 29 March to 6 April 2003.[4] Afghanistan was invited for the games, however Bhutan and India withdrew.[5]

The entire event was postponed for the third time due to the war against Iraq.[6][7] Pakistan retained the organisational authority, despite Sri Lanka being offered to host the games for 2004. Nevertheless, the honour was returned to Sri Lanka as they were given the 10th edition for 2006 instead. The 9th edition was then rescheduled in Pakistan, for 29 March through 7 April 2004. Despite not entering in the previous schedule, Bhutan and India now entered, though the Maldives withdrew from the football tournament.[5]

The Games

Participating nations

The following eight countries competed.[2]

Participating nations

Sports

Medal tally

  *   Host nation (Pakistan)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 India (IND)1035732192
2 Pakistan (PAK)*385550143
3 Sri Lanka (SRI)173257106
4 Nepal (NEP)762033
5 Bangladesh (BAN)3132440
6 Afghanistan (AFG)132832
7 Bhutan (BHU)1326
8 Maldives (MDV)0000
Totals (8 entries)170169213552

See also

References

  1. ^ "South Asian Games cancelled". BBC News. 2001-09-23. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  2. ^ a b "OCA » Islamabad 2004". ocasia.org. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  3. ^ Asghar, Raja. "rediff.com: sports channel - South Asian Federation Games cancelled in Afghan crisis". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  4. ^ "SAF Games from March 29, 2003". Dawn. 2002-03-31. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  5. ^ a b "9th South Asian Federation Games 2004 (Pakistan)". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  6. ^ "SAF Games in Islamabad cancelled". Dawn. 2003-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  7. ^ "KUNA : SAF Games rescheduled again in Pakistan - General - 18/09/2003". Kuwait News Agency. 2003-09-18. Retrieved 2022-09-19.


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