Gangneung, Korea, January 17, 2024: The Olympic Council of Asia’s efforts to promote winter sports throughout the continent are paying off at the IOC’s 4thWinter Youth Olympic Games in Korea.
The OCA’s five zones are all represented in Gangwon province by the presence of 18 National Olympic Committees and a total of 348 athletes.
From West to East, and all regions in between, Asia will have a strong presence on ice and snow at Gangwon 2024 just one year ahead of the OCA’s 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China in February 2025.
The OCA held the Asian Winter Games for the first time in 1986, and Gangwon hosted the fourth edition in 1999.
Korea now has the honour of being the first Asian country to host the Winter YOG, from January 19 to February 1 – a new landmark for Asia.
Not surprisingly, as host country, Korea will have the biggest representation of athletes among the Asian NOCs, with 102 athletes. Next comes Japan with 69 and China with 55.
Of the tropical south-east Asian countries, Thailand has brought 19 athletes, while Kazakhstan from Central Asia has a big team of 41.
Here is a list of the Asian NOCs at the Winter YOG and the number of athletes in each delegation:
Chinese Taipei 19
Hong Kong, China 3
India 1
Iran 5
Japan 69
Kazakhstan 41
Kyrgyzstan 4
Lebanon 5
Mongolia 12
Nepal 2
People’s Republic of China 55
Philippines 3
Qatar 2
Republic of Korea 102
Singapore 2
Thailand 19
United Arab Emirates 2
Uzbekistan 2