South Asian Games

› The South Asian Games (SAF Games, SAG, or SA games, & formerly known as South Asian Federation Games) are a biennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia.

› The governing body of these games is South Asian Sports Council(SASC), formed in 1983.

› At present, SAG are joined by eight members namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.

› The first South Asian Games were hosted by Kathmandu, Nepal in 1984 and have since been held every two years except for some occasions.

› The event is unique in itself as it promotes sports with a view to boost up the team spirit as well as an amiable relationship between the South Asian countries.

› XIII South Asian Games in 2019 is scheduled to be hosted in Kathmandu, Nepal

› This is the third time India is hosting this game. First in 1987(Calcutta), Second in 1995 (Madras) & Third in 2016 Guwahati, Shillong.

 2016 South Asian Games 

› The 2016 South Asian Games, officially the XII South Asian Games, is a major multi-sport event which has taken place from 5 February to 16 February 2016 in Guwahati and Shillong, India.

› The games were originally scheduled to be held in 2012 in Kathmandu, but were postponed to Delhi for 2013 but again, were postponed to late 2015 because of the suspension of the Indian Olympic Association.

› In 2015 it was decided to further postpone the competition to early 2016, because participating countries felt the December dates did not present enough time for preparation.

Logo and mascot:

› On 19 December 2015, Tikhor the baby Rhino was unveiled to the public as the official mascot for the 2016 South Asian Games.

› According to the organising committee, Tikhor carries the message of Peace, Progress, and Prosperity in the South Asian region.

› This is in line with the official motto, "Play for Peace, Progress and Prosperity".

 

Sports:

› There are 226 events in 22 sports held. A total of 788 medals (239 gold, 239 silver and 310 bronze medals) are offered in 2016 South Asian Games.

Participating Nation:

› The numbers in parenthesis represents the number of participants each country has provisionally entered.

›  Afghanistan (254)

›  Bangladesh (409)

›  Bhutan (87)

›  India (519)

›  Maldives (184)

›  Nepal (398)

›  Pakistan (337)

›  Sri Lanka (484)

Medal Tally:

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	India (IND)	188	90	30	308
2	Sri Lanka (SRI)	25	63	98	186
3	Pakistan (PAK)	12	37	57	106
4	Afghanistan (AFG)	7	9	19	35
5	Bangladesh (BAN)	4	15	56	75
6	Nepal (NEP)	3	23	34	60
7	Maldives (MDV)	0	2	1	3
8	Bhutan (BHU)	0	1	15	16
	Total	239	239	310	788