The torch for the upcoming Asian Games was lit in the South Korean host city of Incheon on Tuesday.

The lighting ceremony, attended by dozens officials of the city, took place on Mount Mani on Ganghwa Island, off Incheon’s coast. It marked the symbolic start of the torch relay, which will see the flame making its way around the nation over the next month before arriving back in Incheon for the opening ceremony.

The 17th Asiad will run from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4, with some 13,000 athletes and officials in 36 sports.

On Saturday, another Asian Games torch was lit in New Delhi, India, the first time a lighting ceremony was held outside the host nation. The Olympic Council of Asia picked New Delhi for the occasion because it hosted the inaugural Asian Games in 1951. The torch lit in India will arrive in South Korea on Wednesday, and the two flames will be brought together in a ceremony later the same day. (Yonhap) 


Kim Kuk-young to lead Asiad athletics squad

Kim Kuk-young, the South Korean record holder in the men’s 100-meter sprint, will headline the national athletics squad for the upcoming Asian Games on home soil, the Korean Association of Athletics Federations said Tuesday.

The KAAF announced a team of 65 athletes and 19 coaches for the Asian Games to be held in Incheon.

Kim Bok-joo, technical director of the KAAF, will be the general manager of the athletics squad.

The KAAF said 34 male athletes will compete in 24 events, and 31 athletes will enter 23 events.

Kim Kuk-young, 23, holds the national record in the 100 meters with a time of 10.23 seconds. (Yonhap)