The torch for the Incheon Asian Games 2014 was lit in New Delhi, India, on August 9 in a lead up to the games in Korea. This is the first time for the Asian Games torch to be delivered from overseas, not from within the host country. New Delhi was the host city of the original Asian Games in 1951.

The flame-lighting ceremony took place at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. Ceremony participants included President Kim Young-soo of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee (IAGOC), Indian Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Sarbanand Sonowal, President of the Indian Olympic Association Narayana Ramachandran and Secretary General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Raja Roy Singh.



The flame-lighting ceremony featured 17 Indian women to symbolize the upcoming 17th Asian Games. A concave reflector was used to collect the sunlight to light the torch. After the ceremony, the flame was delivered by a group of torch bearers, including Sushil Kumar, an Indian wrestler who won a silver medal in the London Olympics 2012. The torch bearers ran across central New Delhi.

From there, the torch was carried to Yentai, China, by chartered plane on August 10. It will reach Weihai, China, on August 12 and arrive at Incheon Port the next day by ship. The flame will then begin an approximately 5,700 kilometer-long torch relay, passing through a total of 70 regions in Korea, both cities and counties. It will then arrive back in Incheon on September 19 and light the Incheon Asiad Main Stadium for the 16-day international sporting event, which will last until October 4.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr