The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a pan-Asian multi-sport event and is the second largest of its nature after Olympics. The 18th edition opened to a spectacular show after the Indonesian President Joko Widodo made an unorthodox and dramatic entrance to the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, in an apparent dig at the city’s infamous traffic woes.
For the first time in the history, it will be ‘Two to Tango.’ The event is being hosted by two cities, the capital city of Jakarta (which also hosted the 4th edition in 1962) and Palembang, the capital of the South Sumatra province. This game will be the only one in the history of Asian games to be played entirely south of the equator.
Hanoi in Vietnam was the original choice as the host, but it withdrew due to financial considerations. The event was originally scheduled for 2019 and was planned to be used as qualifying event for 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but it was pushed a year ahead as the country goes for presidential election next year. It had 4 short years to build, upgrade and modernise all the venues and infrastructures necessary for the game. The budget allocated was just a little more than USD400mn. ‘Reuse, Reduce and Recycle’ was the unofficial motto.
The current edition of the Asian Games has 462 sports events in 40 disciplines. Notably, this includes 32 of the 33 that will be staged at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Others such as wushu, a Chinese martial art, and sepak takraw, which is similar to volleyball but played with the feet, are popular in the continent. Pencak silat, a traditional Indonesian martial art, makes its Asian Games debut. Other sports being contested for the first time include jet-skiing, paragliding and bridge. Slowly and surely, eSports is gaining prominence as it makes an entry into the domain of otherwise physical sports. For the first time ever eSports will be contested in Asian Games as demonstration sport, before being officially contested in the next edition as medal event. 
Raising the EQ is the unified Korean delegation as it marched together under a unity banner, a light-blue representation of the Korean peninsula on a white background. The Koreans are fielding a united team in 3 events—light-weight rowing, dragon boat racing and women’s 5X5 basketball.
Believe it or not, the oldest athlete is 70 years elder than the youngest. Malaysian bridge player 81-year-old Lee Hung Fong is the oldest ever debutant at the Asian Games. The youngest athlete is 11-year-old skateboarder Ian Nurmen Amri. Indonesia’s oldest competing athlete is also its richest. Regarded as country’s Warren Buffet, Michael Bambang Hartono has a total net worth of approx. $8.7 billion. He has played bridge since he was 9, and was one of the pioneers of the sport in Indonesia. 
Welcome to ‘Nutty’s Infotainment. YAYS!’
On your mark, Get Set, Go!


This 1979 Nobel Peace Prize winner was born in Uskub (now Skopje, the capital of Macedonia) as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu. Identify this nun and missionary after whom is named the Albanian International airport. 
Mother Teresa.


In 2013, he co-founded the pizza-themed comedy rock band the Pizza Underground, of which he was the vocalist. He will soon be seen in Seth Green’s ‘Changeland’. Name this birthday boy (celebrating his 38th birthday today) who is regarded as the most successful child actor after Shirley Temple.
Macaulay Culkin


The shortest recorded war was fought on 27th August, 1896 between which two nations?
United Kingdom and Zanzibar Sutanate
First published in 1955, which book holds the world record as the best-selling copyrighted book of all time? 
The Guinness Book of Records. As of the 2017 edition, it is published in 100 countries and 23 languages.


What major historical event was George Bissell and Edwin Drake involved in at a site near Titusville, Pennsylvania on August 28, 1859?
First commercially successful oil-well


How many medals did Qatar win at the 2006 Asian Games in the country?
32 (It was ranked 9th with 9 Gold medals).


What is Kakorrhaphiophobia , a fear of?
Failure


What is the name of the cartoon strip created by Chic Young and which by the 1960s was syndicated in more than 1,500 newspapers throughout the world?
Blondie 


Which Arabic word is given to a dried up river bed which floods in rainy season?
Wadi


 Identify this “Flying Finn” who set 22 official world records at distances between 1,500 metres and 20 kilometres, and won nine gold and three silver medals in his twelve events in the Olympic Games. 




(Answer next week. Answer to last week’s photoquiz: Coco Chanel)