Courtesy: Sports Features


4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Incheon 2013 preview

June 21st 2013

The twelve sports of Billiard Sports, Bowling, Chess, Baduk (Go), DanceSport, e-Sports, Futsal, Indoor Kabaddi, Kickboxing, Muay, Kurash and Short Course Swimming 25m will be contested at the 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Incheon 2013 29 June, a combination of the Asian Indoor Games and the Asian Martial Arts Games.

Billiard Sports will be held at the Songdo Convensia from 29 June to 6 July with the top two Korean women – Kim Ga-young, silver medalist in the Eight Ball Singles in the last two Asian Games, and Cha Yu-ram, the top Billiards celebrity in Korea – a highly-anticipated matchup. Kim and Cha have faced each other in five other finals this year alone.

Six gold medals are up for grabs in the Bowling events of Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s and Women’s Doubles, and Men’s and Women’s Team of Four for 77 men and 54 women representing 19 countries at Anyang Hogye Gymnasium. The Men’s Singles event will kick off the Bowling competition 30 June.

Korea’s Choi Jung and China’s Wi Ziying are expected to battle it out for the medal places in Baduk(Go). Choi, who became the youngest professional in Korean history at 14 in 2010, has defeated Wi, 16 and the fifth-ranked player in China, in the only meeting between the two young women.

China’s “World Elite,” Chinese Taipei’s “Taipei Sniper,” and Vietnam’s “Saigon Joker” will each contest the League of Legends e-Sport competition, with a total of 97 competitors from 13 countries participating. Korea’s Choi In-seok, who won the 2013 League of Legends All-Stars in Shanghai, is also part of Korea’s “KT Rolster.”

Futsal will begin three days before the official opening of the 4th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and boasts the most athletes competing out of the twelve sports. Ranked 16th in Asia, Korea is grouped with Kuwait (10th), Hong Kong (20th), and Macao (31st).

India’s gold-medal winning team from the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games is the top Indoor Kabaddi team at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, while Iran and Pakistan are expected to clash for the silver medal. Korea and Japan will likely battle for the bronze medal.

Korea will most likely be the strongest country in Kickboxing, with three Koreans who won gold in Point Fighting at the 2012 Asian Championship expected to participate at AIMAG.

Thailand reigns supreme in the sport of Muay, especially dominant in the lower weight classes. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will offer the strongest challenge to Thailand in the heavier weight classes.

Originating in Uzbekistan, Kurash is similar to Judo in that the competitor who throws the opposition on the back wins points and was first imported to Korea in 2003.

Thirty gold medals will be awarded in Short Course Swimming, with 130 men and 78 women from 29 countries hoping to take home silverware. Though the country is a powerhouse in Asian swimming, Japan will not be competing in the events at AIMAG.






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com