This 8th Winter Asian Games 2017, 32 Nation has participated and other 2 nations Australia and New Zealand are invited. The opening of the program was held in Sapporo Dome where Crown Prince of Japan H.E Naruhito, OCA President Sheikh Ahmed and IOC dignitaries were present.
Japanese royalty performed this key part of the opening ceremony protocol, Japan’s winter sports royalty stepped up to light the Games cauldron – ski jump hero Masahiko Harada, a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Another golden boy from Nagano 1998, speed skater Hiroyasu Shimizu, had started the short, four-leg relay inside the stadium.
The Mayor of Sapporo and President of the Sapporo Asian Winter Games Organising Committee, Mr Katsuhiro Akimoto, welcomed the athletes, officials and guests to Sapporo. He told the audience that this 8th AWG was the biggest in OCA history, with 2,000 participants from 32 NOCs. This figure includes around 1,200 athletes.
Shiekh Ahmad delighted the crowd with a few Japanese words and phrases, including his opening greeting of “konbanwa” (good evening), “ganbare” (give it your best) and the closing “domo arigato gozaimasu” (thank you very much).
He described Sapporo as the home of the Asian Winter Games as this will be the third time in eight editions that the city has hosted the event, and thanked the citizens for making the athletes and officials feel so welcome in Hokkaido.
Ski Athlete Mr. Saphal Ram Shrestha who has participated in the 2nd youth Olympic Games in 2016, Lillehammer Norway was the flag bearer representing Nepal.
The opening ceremony, which began at 4pm, included performances by the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force Northern Army Band, the Ainu Association of Hokkaido representing the indigenous population of northern Japan, the Yosakoi drum and dance group and 300 members of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) Sapporo Station dance team.
The third and final part of the ceremony was a special live performance by the Japanese duo Dreams Come True, who sing the Games anthem “Winter Song – Dancing Snowflakes Version”.
Nepal’s Game Schedule in the 8th Winter Asian Games 2017:
21st Cross Country 10 km (Manikala Rai)
22nd Men’s Giant Slalom (Saphal Ram Shrestha)
23rd Women’s Giant Slalom ( Sangeeta Lama)
24th Men Slalom (Saphal Ram Shrestha)
25th Women’s Slalom (Sangeeta Lama)
26th Cross Country 15 km (Manikala Rai)
