China, the Most Frequent Asian Games Gold Medal Winner up to 2023

The Hangzhou Asian Games in China concluded on Sunday evening (October 8, 2023). China once again emerged as the overall champion in this largest Asian sporting event.

This is China's 11th consecutive overall championship win since the 1982 Asian Games. The overall champion is determined by the country with the most gold medals.

According to the official Hangzhou 2022 website, China, as the host nation, won 383 medals: 201 gold, 111 silver, and 71 bronze.

Japan came in second place with 188 medals: 52 gold, 67 silver, and 69 bronze.

Indonesia ranked 13th with 36 medals: 7 gold, 11 silver, and 18 bronze.

This year's Asian Games was the 19th edition, originally scheduled for 2022 but postponed by a year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout history, only two countries have won the overall championship title in the Asian Games: China and Japan.

From the first Asian Games in 1951 to 1978, Japan consistently won the overall championship, achieving a total of 8 consecutive wins during that period.

The Chinese contingent first participated in the 7th Asian Games in 1974, held in Tehran, Iran.

In their debut, China immediately secured third place in the final standings (33 gold medals). Japan held the top position (75 gold medals), followed by the host country, Iran, in second place (36 gold medals).

China's presence gradually shifted the dominance away from Japan.

Four years later, at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, China achieved second place with 51 gold medals. Japan remained the overall champion with 70 gold medals. However, this marked Japan's last victory.

At the next Asian Games in New Delhi, India, in 1982, Japan failed to win the overall championship. China took the top spot with 61 gold medals, while Japan came in second with 57.

Since then, China has consistently held the top position in the final standings. Starting with the 1990 Beijing Asian Games, China consistently won over 100 gold medals, significantly surpassing its competitors.

China's highest gold medal count was achieved in 2023 in Hangzhou, with 201 gold medals, surpassing their previous record of 199 gold medals at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.

Here is a list of the overall champions of the Asian Games from 1951 to 2023:

* 1951: Japan
* 1954: Japan
* 1958: Japan
* 1962: Japan
* 1966: Japan
* 1970: Japan
* 1974: Japan
* 1978: Japan
* 1982: China
* 1986: China
* 1990: China
* 1994: China
* 1998: China
* 2002: China
* 2006: China
* 2010: China
* 2014: China
* 2018: China
* 2023: China