All about the opening ceremony of 2018 Asian Games
The 2018 Asian Games kicked off today with an amazing opening ceremony held at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) main stadium in Jakarta. The stage has been manually built by artists from Bandung and Jakarta. As per reports, around 50,000 people were expected to attend the grand ceremony. The sporting extravaganza will witness around 16,000 athletes from 45 nations participating in it.
PM Modi has sent in best wishes for Indian athletes
Details of the participants at 2018 Asian Games
A total of 45 countries will be participating in the 2018 edition of the Games. North and South Korea will be participating together as a unified nation. Kuwaitis, originally asked to participate as independent athletes, have been cleared to participate under their national flags just two days prior. This is the first time in history that two cities are hosting the Games.
The Indian contingent at the Games
India's Sports Ministry has cleared 572 athletes to participate in the Asian Games. India's flag-bearer for the 18th Asian Games' opening ceremony was the track and field athlete Neeraj Chopra. A contingent of 802 participants and officials have arrived in Jakarta for the Games. India's major hopes at the Games will be in disciplines like badminton, shooting, hockey, table tennis, wrestling, boxing and weightlifting.
Cultural performances in the opening event
Praises of the well-choreographed performances have already started pouring in. Well-known Indonesian singers also joined in to perform at the ceremony. The event witnessed 4,000 dancers performing together with the background of a mountain accompanied by plants and flowers unique to Indonesia. A hundred musicians performed in the orchestra conducted by Addie MS and Ronald Steven.
