2006 South Asian Games

The 2006 South Asian Games (also known as the 10th South Asian Games) were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from August 18 to August 28, 2006 in the Sugathadasa Stadium with more than 2000 sportspersons competing in the record 20 disciplines of Sports.

X South Asian Games
Logo of the 2006 SAG
Host city Sri Lanka Colombo
Nations participating8
Athletes participating1554
Events197 (in 20 Sports)
Opening ceremony2006 August 18
Closing ceremony2006 August 28
Officially opened byMahinda Rajapaksa,
President of Sri Lanka
Main venueSugathadasa Stadium

The 10th edition of SAF Games also marked the debut for Afghanistan.[1] Another highlight of 2006 SAF Games was unprecedented high levels of security for officials & players amid violent clashes between the Sri Lankan Government's troops and LTTE.[2] Earlier in 2005, the Games, originally scheduled to be held in 2005, had been postponed following the Indonesian tsunami wave devastated the northern and eastern region.[3]

Mascots

Pora-Pol (an ancient sport of coconut fighting) and Wali kukula (a jungle fowl) were chosen as the official logo and mascot for the 2006 SAF Games, respectively. However they drew some criticism for the lack of creativity particularly in the case of mascot.

Sports

The 2006 South Asian Games encompassed a record 20 disciplines with hockey being reintroduced after several years.

Participating nations

athletes from eight countries competed at 2006 South Asian Games.[4]

Medal table
Further information: List of gold medalists at 2006 South Asian Games

  *   Host nation (Sri Lanka)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 India (IND)1185937214
2 Pakistan (PAK)467167184
3 Sri Lanka (SRI)*376378178
4 Nepal (NEP)15143160
5 Afghanistan (AFG)671831
6 Bangladesh (BAN)3153250
7 Bhutan (BHU)031013
8 Maldives (MDV)0000
Totals (8 nations)225232273730

Schedule
OCOpening ceremony ●Event competitions 1Event finals CCClosing ceremony
August 14th
Mon		 15th
Tue		 16th
Wed		 17th
Thu		 18th
Fri		 19th
Sat		 20th
Sun		 21st
Mon		 22nd
Tue		 23rd
Wed		 24th
Thu		 25th
Fri		 26th
Sat		 27th
Sun		 28th
Mon		 Events
CeremoniesOCCC
Archery ● 2 2 4
Athletics 10 14 10 1 35
Badminton ● ● 5 ● ● 2 7
Boxing ● ● ● 11 11
Cycling 2 2 2 6
Field hockey ● ● ● 1 1
Football ● ● ● ● ● ● 1 1
Judo 6 5 11
Kabbadi ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 2 2
Karate 4 2 2 3 3 14
Rowing 4 3 7
Shooting 2 4 6 2 6 4 2 26
Squash ● ● 2 ● ● ● 2 4
Swimming 7 7 7 8 9 38
Table tennis ● ● 2 2 1 2 2 7
Taekwondo 5 5 3 13
Volleyball ● ● ● 2 2
Weightlifting 2 2 2 2 8
Wrestling 4 3 7
Wushu ● ● ● 12 6
Total events5131322421918324293218
Cumulative total518315395114132164206215218
August 14th
Mon		 15th
Tue		 16th
Wed		 17th
Thu		 18th
Fri		 19th
Sat		 20th
Sun		 21st
Mon		 22nd
Tue		 23rd
Wed		 24th
Thu		 25th
Fri		 26th
Sat		 27th
Sun		 28th
Mon		 Events

Highlights
  • Nagalingm Edirith Weeresinghe and Sriyani Kulawansa (both former Sri Lankan athletes) lit the Games torch at the opening ceremony.
  • India made a clean sweep at Archery, Badminton, Rowing, Wushu.
  • The women's Kabaddi event was introduced.
  • Maldives failed to claim any medal for the second consecutive time.
  • Sri Lanka Swimmer Mayumi Raheem wins 10 medals (3 Gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) a record for any athlete at a single games

Doping

The 10th SAF games could not be freed from infamous trend of steroid-using by athletes to boost their performance, as a group of athletes were reportedly tested positive for the use of banned performance-enhancing substance. Prominent athletes alleged to test positive included Nepal's double gold-medalist Rajendra Bhandari, Pakistani boxers Nauman Karim & Mohammed Lassi and Sri Lanka's Jani Chathurangani Silva.[5] An Indian athlete was also said to have failed a dope test.[6]

References
  1. "COLOMBO 2006". Archived from the original on 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  2. "Colombo shifts focus to SAF Games". The Times of India. August 17, 2006.
  3. South Asian Games Postponed Archived 2008-03-21 at the Wayback Machine. The Hindu. January 07 2005.
  4. "Competing countries". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  5. "Nepalese gold medalist among four South Asian Games athletes tested positive for drugs".International Herald Tribune. September 23, 2006.
  6. "India returns positive dope tests from South Asian Games". The Hindu. September 21, 2006. Accessed 2009-05-30. Archived 2009-06-01.
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