South Asian Federation Games, A Smart Way To Breakdown Country Barriers

Added: 11/21/2007

Sports and being athletic has always considered as a healthy lifestyle. People would work for hours sitting on their desks, spending hours in front of their computers which make it even more essential for employees, students etc to maintain their health as well. The SAF Games, formally known as the South Asian Federation Games formed in 1983 is an Olympic for South Asian countries to keep their member countries athletic and boost their sports spirit.

South Asian Federation Games also known as SAF or SAG was formally formed in a meeting in Bahrain in 1983 was a healthy outlet for South Asian countries to get athletic and show their talents through this event. The membership was restricted to eight countries in the region, namely India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives. The guidelines, games and the idea of South Asian Federation Games formed a shape in 1984 when Katmandu offered to be the very first official host of the South Asian Federation Games. Except for Afghanistan who was not a member of SAF Games at that time, every other member sent their young athletes to demonstrate their skills to the world.

The whole idea of forming a South Asian Federation Games is to create excitement and interaction between the countries. Competition in sports bring the countries closer together giving an opportunity to get to know each other’s culture. The games might get competitive from time to time but this only increases the anticipation of the audience and encourages the contestants to work harder to proof themselves. The games are also based on the interests of the people living in this region like Boxing, Kabaddi, Football, Swimming, Wrestling, Table Tennis, Judo, Volleyball, Hockey, Karate, Squash, Badminton, Rowing, Cycling, Taekwondo, Wushu and Weightlifting.

The South Asian Federation Games are held after every two year. The last SAF Games were held in 2006 Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 2006 Pakistan won the South Asian Federation Games. The upcoming South Asian Federation Games are expected to be held in 2008 Dhaka, Bangladesh. The two year time period is for the athletes to exercise and get fit for the competition. Whereas, they have couches and special training so that they are not just an applicant in the contest but are winners representing their country.

In 2004, it was decided in the 32nd meeting of South Asian Sports Council to rename the games from South Asian Federation Games to South Asian Games as the officials believed the word ‘Federation’ was diminishing the emphasis on event and acting as a barrier in attracting crowd. These Games are often hyped as the South Asian version of Olympic Games.

The 2006 Medal Tally is something like this:

CountryGoldSilverBronzeTotal
India1186947234
Pakistan434471158
Sri Lanka376378178
Nepal9153155
Afghanistan671629
Bangladesh3153452
Bhutan31013
Maldives
Medal Tally for the rest of the years can be viewed on the following website:
http://www.tomorrowsrilanka.com/

The main purpose of the SAF Games is to help promote different cultures of the countries member to this sports event despite of color, race, cast, creed, religion or political barriers. All the member countries gather under one banner to create a disciplined and healthy show of sportsmanship for the audiences. The hymn of the SAG clearly expresses the message of goodwill, brotherhood, peace and prosperity:
Sports is our life, Unity our strength Our skills shine through perseverance SAF will prosper through peace and stability, Keep your spirit higher through sports forever!
The motto also signifies the same thought: PEACE, PERSEVERANCE, PROGRESS.

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