“From anticipation to meeting, from reunion to farewell, this is a carnival for all of Asia.”

The fabulous closing ceremony held recently at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium officially brought an end to the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. Looking back at the Games, it is only fair to say that Team Sri Lanka surely struck gold and saw a shift towards the brighter side this time around.

At the final medal tally, Sri Lanka was ranked 26th – the highest rank since Busan 2002 – and won five medals – the highest number of medals, also since Busan 2002. 

In retrospect, Sri Lanka managed to grab a medal for the first time since Incheon 2014 when the women’s cricket team, led by Chamari Athapaththu, clinched silver at the finals against India. Then, Nadeesha Lekamge grabbed the silver medal in women’s javelin throw – marking the first athletics medal at an Asian Games since Doha 2006. Two days later, Tharushi Karunarathne made headlines winning the gold in women’s 800 m, signifying the first gold medal in athletics for Sri Lanka at an Asian Games since Busan 2002. Concurrently, the women’s and men’s relay teams clinched the bronze medal in their respective 4x400 m relays, securing three medals within the same day.

The closing ceremony was surely the cherry on top for this version of the Games. A number of sleekly planned videos played throughout the show, featuring highlights of the Games.

The event also featured a nod to the next Asian Games at the Handover Ceremony between the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC) and Japan as well as at the performance by the next host city – already building up the anticipation for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

All in all, it is only fair to say that Hangzhou 2022 set a new standard for Asian Games and was certainly a festival to remember for a long time to come.

                                                                                    (Olympic.lk/media and NOCSL)