Asian Games torch to arrive in host city Wednesday

The torch for the upcoming Asian Games will arrive in the host city of Incheon this week, the event's organizers said Monday.

The organizing committee for the 17th Asian Games said the torch will reach the west coast port city on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony of the multisport competition.

In an unprecedented development, two separate torches were lit first before they came together in a ceremony in Incheon last month. The first torch was lit in New Delhi, India, the host of the inaugural Asian Games in 1951, and another was set alight in Incheon. This was the first time that a torch lighting ceremony for an Asian Games took place outside the host nation.

Then the two torches were joined in Incheon on Aug. 13, after the one from India made its way here through China. The flame has since traveled across South Korea and will have covered nearly 6,000 kilometers over 38 years before arriving in Incheon.

The design of the torch has been inspired by a crane, the official bird of Incheon.

This year's Asian Games will be the third in South Korea, after Seoul in 1986 and Busan in 2002.

All 45 member states of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), including North Korea, will participate, vying for 439 gold medals in 36 sports. About 14,500 athletes and officials are expected here during the 16-day competition. (Yonhap)