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VII Asian Games
Host city	Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Motto	Ever Onward
Nations	26
Athletes	3,010
Events	200 in 16 sports
Opening	2 September 1974
Closing	16 September 1974
Opened by	King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; (Shah of Iran)
Athlete's Oath	Mansour Barzegar
Torch lighter	Golverdi Peymani
Main venue	Aryamehr Stadium
Website	ocasia.org (archived)
	← Bangkok 1970 Bangkok 1978 →

The 7th Asian Games (Persian: بازی‌های آسیایی VII), also known as Tehran 1974 (Persian: تهران ۱۹۷۴), were held from 1 to 16 September 1974 in Tehran, Iran. The Aryamehr Sports Complex was built for the Games. This marked the first time the Asian Games were hosted in the Middle East. Tehran, the capital of Iran, played host to 3,010 athletes coming from 25 countries/NOCs, the highest number of participants since the inception of the Games.

Fencing, gymnastics and women's basketball were added to the existing disciplines. The games were known for the use of state-of-the-art technology, from synthetic track to photo-finish cameras.

History

Starting in 1962, the Games were hit by several crises. First, the host country Indonesia, refused to permit the participation of Israel and the Republic of China (Taiwan) due to political and religious issues. As a result, the IOC removed its sponsorship of the Games and terminated Indonesia as one of the IOC members.^[1] The Asian Football Confederation (AFC),^[2] International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), also removed their recognition of the Games.^[3]^[4]

In 1970, South Korea dropped its plan to host the Games due to a national security crisis; however, the main reason was the financial crisis, forcing the previous host Thailand to administer the Games again in Bangkok using funds transferred from South Korea.^[5] Prior to the Games, Japan was asked to host, but declined due to Expo '70 in Osaka.^[6] This edition also marked the first time the Games were broadcast on television throughout the world.^[7]

Athletics was one of the most popular disciplines of these games. Reza Entezari, an Iranian runner, won silver medals in the 400 meters and 800 meters competitions, as well as bronze in the 4 x 400 metres relay.^[8]

Host city selection

Commemorative stamps of the 1974 Asian games by the post of Iran.

On 11 and 12 January 1968, a meeting was organised in Bangkok, involving the representatives of nine Asian National Olympic Committees. The framework of the meeting was set up in another meeting held on 1 September 1970 during the first Bangkok Asian Games. Tehran was selected as host city after defeating Kuwait City and Tel Aviv.

1974 Asian Games bidding results
City	NOC	Round 1	Round 2
Tehran	Iran	19	25
Kuwait City	Kuwait	12	9
Tel Aviv	Israel	2	−

Organisation

The responsibility of organising the Seventh Asian Games was assigned to a special committee headed by Amir Abbas Hoveida, then Prime Minister of Iran.

Venues

The main venues for the 1974 Asian Games was inside the multi-purpose sport complex– Aryamehr Sports Complex.

The stadium was designed by Abdolaziz Farmanfarmaian and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and rupees 100,000 persons were required for the full construction, which was completed on 1 April 1971. The stadium was named forAryamehr, meaning the light of Aryans, in reference to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, then king of Iran.

Aryamehr Sport Complex – Aquatics, Athletics, Basketball, Cycling, Fencing, Gymnastics, Field hockey, Football, Volleyball, Shooting, Table tennis, Weightlifting and Wrestling
Amjadieh Sport Complex – Badminton and Football
Mohammad Reza Shah Stadium – Boxing
Shahanshahi Club – Shooting and Tennis
Apadana Stadium – Football
Amjadieh International Stadium – Football

The Games

Opening ceremony

On 1 September 1974, the Seventh Asian Games were officially opened. The list of the guests included— Shah of Iran Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi, then Prime Minister of Iran Amir Abbas Hoveida, cabinet members of Iranian Government, President of Israel Ephraim Katzir, President of South Korea Park Chung Hee, King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, diplomatic corps and representatives of participating Asian NOCs. The Aryamehr Stadium was filled with an estimated 100,000 spectators. After a speech by the president of Asian Games Federation, HRH Yadavendra Singh, Mohammad Reza Shah officially opened the Games. The ceremony featured a card stunt performed by students of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.^[9]

Sports

Participating nations

The Asian Games Federation conference, which was held ten months before the Games, decided to expel the Republic of China (Taiwan) from the games and accepted the entry of the People's Republic of China. The Arab nations, Pakistan, China and North Korea refused to play with Israel in tennis, fencing, basketball and football. This was the last time Israel competed in the Asian Games.

Afghanistan (10)
Bahrain (37)
Burma (46)
China (269)
Hong Kong (37)
India (155)
Indonesia (21)
Iran (400)
Iraq (117)
Israel (61)
Japan (291)
Khmer Republic (25)
Kuwait (100)
Laos (4)
Malaysia (100)
Mongolia (15)
Nepal (17)
North Korea (162)
Pakistan (154)
Philippines (47)
Singapore (47)
South Korea (206)
South Vietnam (12)
Sri Lanka (29)
Thailand (97)

Non-competing nations The following only sent non-competing delegations:

Saudi Arabia

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees (by highest to lowest)

IOC Letter Code	Country	Athletes
IRN	Iran	400
JPN	Japan	291
CHN	China	269
KOR	South Korea	206
PRK	North Korea	162
IND	India	155
PAK	Pakistan	154
IRQ	Iraq	117
KUW	Kuwait	100
MAL	Malaysia	100
THA	Thailand	97
ISR	Israel	61
PHI	Philippines	47
SIN	Singapore	47
BIR	Burma	46
BRN	Bahrain	37
HKG	Hong Kong	37
SRI	Sri Lanka	29
KHM	Khmer Republic	25
INA	Indonesia	21
NEP	Nepal	17
MGL	Mongolia	15
VNM	South Vietnam	12
AFG	Afghanistan	10
LAO	Laos	4

Calendar

In the following calendar for the 1974 Asian Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport were held. The numeral indicates the number of event finals for each sport held that day. On the left, the calendar lists each sport with events held during the Games, and at the right, how many gold medals were won in that sport. There is a key at the top of the calendar to aid the reader.

OC	Opening ceremony	●	Event competitions	1	Event finals	CC	Closing ceremony

September 1974	2nd Mon	3rd Tue	4th Wed	5th Thu	6th Fri	7th Sat	8th Sun	9th Mon	10th Tue	11th Wed	12th Thu	13th Fri	14th Sat	15th Sun	Gold medals
Athletics								3	3	3	6	6	1	13	35
Badminton				●	●	●	●	2	●	●	●	●	5		7
Basketball	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	2
Boxing				●	●	●	●	●		●	●		11		11
Cycling – Road				1									1		2
Cycling – Track						1	●	1	●	2					4
Diving	●	●	1	1	1	1									4
Fencing		●	1	1	●	1	1	1	1	●	1	1			8
Field hockey					●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1
Football	●	●	●	●	●	●		●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1
Gymnastics	●	2	1	1	10										14
Shooting	2	3	5	4	5	3									22
Swimming	4	5	4	3	4	5									25
Table tennis							●	●	●	2		●	●	5	7
Tennis	●	●	●	1	●	●	●	●	●	1	3	2			7
Volleyball	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●		1	1	2
Water polo	●	●	●	●	●	1									1
Weightlifting	6	6	6	9											27
Wrestling							●	●	10	●	●	10			20
Total gold medals	12	16	18	21	20	12	1	7	14	8	10	19	20	22	200
Ceremonies	OC													CC
September 1974	2nd Mon	3rd Tue	4th Wed	5th Thu	6th Fri	7th Sat	8th Sun	9th Mon	10th Tue	11th Wed	12th Thu	13th Fri	14th Sat	15th Sun	Gold medals

Medal table

The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below. The host nation, Iran, is highlighted.

* Host nation (Iran)


Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Japan (JPN)	75	49	51	175
2	Iran (IRN)*	36	28	17	81
3	China (CHN)	33	46	27	106
4	South Korea (KOR)	16	26	15	57
5	North Korea (PRK)	15	14	17	46
6	Israel (ISR)	7	4	8	19
7	India (IND)	4	12	12	28
8	Thailand (THA)	4	2	8	14
9	Indonesia (INA)	3	4	4	11
10	Mongolia (MGL)	2	5	8	15
11–19	Remaining	7	9	41	57
Totals (19 entries)		202	199	208	609

Iran-Israel football match

In September 1974, the national teams of Iran and Israel faced each other in the final of the soccer tournament, which was seen by some Iranians and Israelis, especially the high classes and middle classes as a symbol of sympathy of the two countries. This competition was held at Arya Mehr stadium in the presence of Shah of Iran; Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and queen of Iran; Farah Pahlavi, it was a symbol of the friendship between two countries. The Iranian national team, with the support of their fans, eventually won due to an own goal by Israeli defender Itzhak Shum and this victory was celebrated as a national event with Israelis on the streets of Tehran, Isfahan and Kerman.^[10]^[11]

References

^ "Track: Asian Games Dropped By Olympics". Daytona Beach. 1962-08-23. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ "第4届 1962年雅加达亚运会". data.sports.163.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ "Penalty Dealt to Indonesia". Spokane Daily Chronicles. 1962-09-13. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ "Warning". The Age. 1962-08-30. Retrieved 2010-08-14.
^ "第六届 1970年曼谷亚运会". Data.sports.163.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
^ "Thailand's Sporting Spirit". Pattaya Mail Sports. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
^ "第六届 1970年曼谷亚运会". data.sports.163. Archived from the original on 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
^ Jenes, Paul. "Asian Games, Teheran 1974" (PDF). Association of Track and Field Statisticians. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
^ Assumption Association (2003). อัสสัมชัญประวัติ (Assumption College 115th anniversary commemoration) (in Thai). Bangkok: Assumption Association. pp. 114–124. ISBN 974-91380-1-5.
^ Hareuveny, Or; Blanga, Yehuda U. (2023). "The 1974 Asian Games in Tehran: Israel's final countdown". Israel Affairs. 29 (3): 529–556. doi:10.1080/13537121.2023.2206214.
^ "takhtejamshidcup.com جام تخت جمشید". takhtejamshidcup.com. Retrieved 2024-01-15.