Closing of the 17th Asian Games: Goodbye Incheon!

After 16 days of competition, the 2014 Asian Games officially ended in Incheon (South Korea) with the closing ceremony taking place this evening (October 4).

The 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea with more than 9,500 athletes from 45 countries and territories competing in 36 events with 439 gold medals has officially ended.

As usual, the Chinese delegation still demonstrated their superior strength with the leading position of the whole delegation with 151 gold medals, 108 silver medals, and 83 bronze medals.

In this year's Games, a total of 14 new world records were set after the 17th Asian Games and more than 40 Asian records were also set. Regarding the above results of the Games, the President of the Olympic Committee of Asia said: "These numbers show the development of sports in the region. Everyone is satisfied with the success and level of the competitions."

The Vietnamese sports delegation with 1 gold medal, 10 silver medals, and 25 bronze medals ranked 21st overall.

The closing ceremony opened with a performance by the Rainbow Choir, comprising 30 children from many different countries. This was followed by a performance by the Sistar band and dance performances by artists from the host country.

100 taekwondo athletes from the host country performed to honor the volunteers from the host country.

The next part of the closing ceremony began with the flag-raising ceremony and the national anthem of the host country, Korea. This was followed by a performance by the Serotonin Drum Club, which was meant as a welcome to the athletes who had come to the Asian Games in Incheon this year. After the drum performance, there was a flag-raising ceremony for all the countries and territories attending the ASIAD.

Afterwards, the Asian Olympic Committee and the host country's Organizing Committee presented the award to the best athlete of the 17th ASIAD, Kosuke Hagino - a Japanese swimmer who won 4 gold medals at this year's ASIAD.

Finally, the organizing committee conducted a ceremony to hand over the hosting rights of the next ASIAD in 2018 to Jakarta, Indonesia. The closing ceremony officially ended with an artistic performance by Indonesia – the host country of ASIAD 18 and the torch-extinguishing ceremony of the Games./.

Watch video clipSpecial art performances at the closing ceremony:

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Below are some pictures of the closing ceremony of ASIAD 17:

Kosuke Hagino received the award for best athlete of ASIAD 17

According to VOV/Thethaovanhoa