A major competition has already begun at the Asian Games, but it's nowhere near a stadium or arena. Tokyo and Doha are doing some advance lobbying at these regional games for a bigger prize, the 2016 Olympics.

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Doha plans to use the Asian Games, which feature 45 countries, 10,500 athletes in 39 sports, as a major platform to announce plans for bidding for the Olympics in 10 years.

Tokyo, which was chosen by the Japanese Olympic committee to bid for the same games, had a media conference Monday as many of its team members arrived.

Both cities will have the ear of International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge on Thursday. Rogge will visit the games with other Olympic officials after he attends an IOC executive board meeting in Kuwait City.

In other political news at the games, the two Koreas will hold talks in Doha on Thursday on fielding a single team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

South Korea has accepted the North's latest offer to continue discussion on the issue and has agreed to hold talks, the South's Unification Ministry said. The South and North Korean delegations have already agreed to march together at the opening and closing ceremonies in Doha.

While some athletes arrive ahead of the opening ceremonies on Friday, several competitions including preliminaries for soccer, basketball and the ongoing volleyball have been held. The main soccer tournament starts Tuesday with six second-round matches.

Malaysia's Nicol David is one of those on her way to Doha _ from Northern Ireland _ with a trophy in her carryon baggage and the favoritism tag in the squash competition.

David retained her World Women's Open championship on the weekend in Belfast. She beat Natalie Grinham of Australia in five sets in the final at Ulster Hall, stretching her unbeaten run to 33 matches this year.

She has won six straight titles and could make the Asian Games championship her seventh.

South Korea plays Bangladesh and hopes to keep its outstanding record in Asian Games soccer. The Koreans, World Cup semifinalists in 2002, have won 41 matches, more than any other team in the Asian Games. Dutch coach Pim Verbeek will try to take his team to its fourth Asian Games title.

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