SEOUL, February 6 (AJP) - The Winter Asian Games are set to kick off with an opening ceremony in Harbin, China on Friday.
About 150 South Korean athletes along with 70 sports officials and staff already left the country on Tuesday. They will compete in six disciplines: biathlon, curling, ice hockey, ice skating (figure skating, short track and speed skating), skiing (alpine, cross-country, freestyle and snowboarding), and ski mountaineering.
Originally slated for 2021, the Games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and difficulties in selecting a host city, now returning about eight years after the 2017 Sapporo Games.
Harbin, famous for its charm as an "ice city" with illuminating lights and snow sculptures every winter, was the sole bidder and was selected as the host city for the quadrennial sporting event for Asian athletes.
Approximately 1,300 athletes from 34 Asian countries are set to compete in 11 disciplines for 64 gold medals at this year's Games, which will run for eight days until Feb. 14.
The event's opening ceremony, scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday at the Harbin International Convention, Exhibition, and Sports Center, will feature South Korean ice hockey player Lee Chong-min and Kim Eun-ji, the skip and captain of the women's curling team, as flag bearers.
The country aims to secure second place overall, as it did at the Sapporo Games, where it won 16 gold, 18 silver, and 16 bronze medals.
Meanwhile, North Korean athletes also departed for Harbin earlier this week, according to Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Thursday.
Three North Korean athletes are set to compete: figure skating duo Ryom Tae-ok and Han Kum-chol, and skater Ro Yong-myong in the men's singles event.
Ryom is a bronze medalist from the Sapporo Games, where she and her partner Kim Ju-sik earned the medal in the figure skating pairs event.
reporter
Kim Joo-heon
jhkim123@ajunews.com
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