GUANGZHOU: Hong Kong and Macao will not hold the equestrian events for the 16th Asian Games in 2010, a senior official with the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (GAGOC) said yesterday.

"We have talked with sports officials from the two special administrative regions about the possibility of holding the equestrian events there. But no agreement over the issue has been reached due to the high costs of holding the events and other difficulties in renting fields," said Tian Xinde, deputy secretary general of the GAGOC.

Hong Kong was one of the co-hosting cities for the Beijing Olympic Games, holding the equestrian competitions.

"We have decided to build our own equestrian fields," Tian said.

According to Tian, the GAGOC is working hard with several government departments to select a site for the Asian Games equestrian events and encourage public funding for the construction.

The equestrian competitions in the upcoming Asian Games include six small events, said Tian, adding there might be two more events depending on the construction of the field.

"Besides Guangzhou, three other cities in the Pearl River Delta region, namely Foshan, Dongguan and Shanwei, will hold some competitions for the Games," said Tian.

Specifically, Foshan will hold the boxing and water ballet competitions while Dongguan will have weight-lifting and Shanwei regatta sailing.

Meanwhile, the GAGOC announced that there will be a total of 42 sporting events in the Games, of which six are new to the Asian Games.

All the events have been approved by the Olympic Council of Asia in early August.

Twenty-eight of the events are also Olympic events.

"The 14 other non-Olympic events, such as Dragon Boat Racing, Kabaddi, Sepak Takraw and Cricket, are all popular sports with a long history in Asian countries and regions," said Li Naizhen, deputy director of the Competition Department of the GAGOC.

Different from the Olympic Games, the Asian Games will provide a platform for participating countries and regions to showcase their rich sports and cultural history, according to Li.

"The Asian Games will help push forward exchange and development of sports in Asia," Li said.

According to Li, the GAGOC will hold a series of activities over the two years ahead, promoting the non-Olympic events.

"For example, we will promote Kabaddi, a team sport originally from the Indian subcontinent and now popular throughout South Asia, next month in schools," Li said.

(HK Edition 10/15/2008 page1)