Korea bids goodbye to Asiad
Their smiles have brought joy to all those who were in Incheon the last couple of weeks and more for the Asian Games. Young girls and boys, with bright sparkling faces, have been a joy to behold. They did not know a word of English but slowly, one realised that language was not a barrier.
As the 17th edition of the Continental Games wound up at the Asiad Main Stadium here on Saturday night, one felt the same warmth as Korea bid goodbye to the Games.
It did not cost Korea a lot to host the Games. It was not like Guangzhou or Doha, but Incheon showed it could deliver even while cutting costs.
The closing ceremony was a simple affair; there was not much on the menu with very little fireworks. It was like a light meal, and tasty too.
Little children from the Rainbow Choir, in fact 30 of them, opened the show with a lovely number that sent a message of peace and appreciation to their Asian friends.
And then there was the graceful Chunsanghwa, a creative dance performance by young girls taking the audience to a dream world.
The dance offered hope to the 4.5 billion Asians, luring them to dream and offering them hope that these dreams come true.
A taekwondo performance and the so-go drum dance followed. Then a nice video on how the athletes here enjoyed their days in Incheon was also shown.
The stadium was packed, all the 60,000 seats were taken and a little later, when the athletes came, dancing and singing, with the Indians trying their hand on their many big drums, there was joy all around.
Japanese swimmer Hagino Kusuke, who won seven medals, including four golds here, won the Most Valuable Player of the Games award.
The flag of the first Asian Games, held in New Delhi in 1951, was then handed to the next host, Indonesia which will host it in Jakarta in 2018. A little later, dancers from Indonesia offered a glimpse of what to expect when the Asian family moves to Jakarta four years from now.
“My message to all athletes here is to take what you have learnt at the Asian Games and move up to the next level, the Olympic Games,” said Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, the President of the Olympic Council of Asia.
Incheon was a happy experience for many and the Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong Won was happy to hear that from the many dignitaries around.
For Korea, a land of smiling faces, offered everyone a chance to dream.
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