South Asian Games (SAF Games or SAG & formerly known as South Asian Federation Games also known as SA games) are a bi-annual 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.
The motto of SAF games is "Peace, Prosperity and Progress".
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 1983 and have since been held every two years except for some occasions.
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.
List of South Asian Games :
| Year | Games | Host City | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | I | Kathmandu | Nepal |
| 1985 | II | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 1987 | III | Calcutta | India |
| 1989 | IV | Islamabad | Pakistan |
| 1991 | V | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 1993 | VI | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 1995 | VII | Madras | India |
| 1999 | VIII | Kathmandu | Nepal |
| 2004 | IX | Islamabad | Pakistan |
| 2006 | X | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 2010 | XI | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 2012 | XII | Delhi | India |
| 2014 | XIII | Islamabad | Pakistan |
| 2016 | XIV | Hambantota | Sri Lanka |
Last updated on: 18/10/2019
