ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to discover the correlations between the Asian Games, Asian sport and Asian politics. It tackles the issues regarding the origins of the Asian Games, and the relationship between the Asian Games, regional cooperation, bilateral relations and global politics. Based on historical research, it argues that, first, despite originating as a product of cultural imperialism, disseminated by the YMCA to spread Western ideas of modern sport, the Asian Games provided a platform for both athletes and Asian countries to establish their national and regional identities. Second, the revival of the Asian Games in the 1950s was the product of national independence and decolonisation movements. The Asian Games not only enhanced the image of Asian nations in the international sport arena but also provided an opportunity for advancing the development of the Asian states in the global political system by breaking the hegemony that the Occident exercised over the Orient. Third, the creation of the Olympic Council of Asia stimulated the process of integration of Asian countries into the International Olympic Movement.
