The 2006 South Asian Games (also known as the 10th South Asian Games) were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 18 August to 28 August 2006, in the Sugathadasa Stadium with more than 2000 sportspersons competing in the record 20 disciplines of Sports.
 Logo of the 2006 SAG | |
| Host city | Colombo |
|---|---|
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Nations | 8 |
| Athletes | 1554 |
| Events | 197 (in 20 Sports) |
| Opening | 18 August 2006 |
| Closing | 28 August 2006 |
| Opened by | Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka |
| Main venue | Sugathadasa Stadium |
The 10th edition of SAF Games also marked the debut for Afghanistan.[1] Another highlight of 2006 SAF Games was unprecedented high levels of security for officials & players amid violent clashes between the Sri Lankan Government's troops and LTTE.[2] Earlier in 2005, the Games, originally scheduled to be held in 2005, had been postponed following the Indonesian tsunami wave devastated the northern and eastern region.[3]
Mascots
Pora-Pol (an ancient sport of coconut fighting) and Wali kukula (a jungle fowl) were chosen as the official logo and mascot for the 2006 SAF Games, respectively.
Sports
The 2006 South Asian Games encompassed a record 20 disciplines with hockey being reintroduced after several years.
Archery (4) ()
Athletics (35) ()
Badminton (5) ()
Boxing (11) ()
Cycling (6) ()
Field hockey (1) ()
Football (1) ()
Judo (11) ()
Kabaddi (2) ()
Karatedo (14) ()
Rowing (7) ()
Shooting (10) ()
Squash (4) ()
Swimming (38) ()
Table tennis (7) ()
Taekwondo (16) ()
Volleyball (2) ()
Weightlifting (8) ()
Wrestling (8) ()
Wushu (6) ()
Participating nations
athletes from eight countries competed at 2006 South Asian Games.[4]
Afghanistan (86)
Bangladesh (192)
Bhutan (54)
India (293)
Maldives (59)
Nepal (216)
Pakistan (288)
Sri Lanka (366)
Medal table
Note : This Section Needs to be Updated after Doping Tests
* Host nation (Sri Lanka)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  India (IND) | 118 | 69 | 47 | 234 |
| 2 |  Pakistan (PAK) | 43 | 44 | 71 | 158 |
| 3 |  Sri Lanka (SRI)* | 37 | 63 | 78 | 178 |
| 4 |  Nepal (NEP) | 9 | 15 | 31 | 55 |
| 5 |  Afghanistan (AFG) | 6 | 7 | 16 | 29 |
| 6 |  Bangladesh (BAN) | 3 | 15 | 34 | 52 |
| 7 |  Bhutan (BHU) | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| 8 |  Maldives (MDV) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals (8 entries) | 216 | 216 | 287 | 719 | |
Schedule
| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Event finals | CC | Closing ceremony |
| August | 14th Mon | 15th Tue | 16th Wed | 17th Thu | 18th Fri | 19th Sat | 20th Sun | 21st Mon | 22nd Tue | 23rd Wed | 24th Thu | 25th Fri | 26th Sat | 27th Sun | 28th Mon | Events | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ceremonies | OC | CC | |||||||||||||||
 Archery | ● | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||
 Athletics | 10 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 35 | ||||||||||||
 Badminton | ● | ● | 5 | ● | ● | 2 | 7 | ||||||||||
 Boxing | ● | ● | ● | 11 | 11 | ||||||||||||
 Cycling | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||||||
 Field hockey | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
 Football | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
 Judo | 6 | 5 | 11 | ||||||||||||||
 Kabbadi | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
 Karate | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 14 | |||||||||||
 Rowing | 4 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||||||
 Shooting | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 26 | |||||||||
 Squash | ● | ● | 2 | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
 Swimming | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 38 | |||||||||||
 Table tennis | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |||||||||
 Taekwondo | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 | |||||||||||||
 Volleyball | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
 Weightlifting | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Wrestling | 4 | 3 | 7 | ||||||||||||||
 Wushu | ● | ● | ● | 12 | 6 | ||||||||||||
| Total events | 5 | 13 | 13 | 22 | 42 | 19 | 18 | 32 | 42 | 9 | 3 | 218 | |||||
| Cumulative total | 5 | 18 | 31 | 53 | 95 | 114 | 132 | 164 | 206 | 215 | 218 | ||||||
| August | 14th Mon | 15th Tue | 16th Wed | 17th Thu | 18th Fri | 19th Sat | 20th Sun | 21st Mon | 22nd Tue | 23rd Wed | 24th Thu | 25th Fri | 26th Sat | 27th Sun | 28th Mon | Events | |
Highlights
- Nagalingm Edirith Weeresinghe and Sriyani Kulawansa (both former Sri Lankan athletes) lit the Games torch at the opening ceremony.
- India made a clean sweep at Archery, Badminton, Rowing, Wushu.
- The Women's Kabaddi event was introduced.
- Maldives failed to claim any medal for the second consecutive time.
- Sri Lanka Swimmer Mayumi Raheem wins 10 medals (3 Gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze) a record for any athlete at a single games.
Doping at the 2006 South Asian Games
The 10th SAF games could not be freed from infamous trend of steroid-using by athletes to boost their performance, as a group of athletes were reportedly tested positive for the use of banned performance-enhancing substance. Nine positive cases reported after more than 200 urine samples taken during the eight-nation Games were tested at an IOC ratified laboratory in Malaysia.[6] Prominent athletes tested positive included Nepal's double gold-medalist athlete Rajendra Bahadur Bhandari,[7] Pakistani boxers Nauman Karim (Fly Weight 51Kgs), Mehrullah Lasi (Feather Weight 57Kgs), Faisal Karim (Light Welter 64Kgs) and Sri Lanka's athlete Jani Chathurangani Silva.[8] It rumoured on Media Reports that an Indian athlete have failed a dope test.[9] Later Hemasiri Fernando, SriLankan Olympic Committee President said "No Indian Athlete has tested Positive".[10]
| Name | NOC | Sport | Banned Substance | Stripped Off Medal | Ban Duration | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nauman Karim |  Pakistan | Boxing (51kgs) | Anabolic Steroids |  Gold | 2 Years |  Harsha Kumara |
| Mehrullah Lasi | Pakistan | Boxing (57kgs) | Cannabis | Gold | 6 Months |  Anthresh Lalit Lakra |
| Faisal Karim | Pakistan | Boxing (64Kgs) | Cannabis | Gold | 6 Months | Sushil Ghimire |
| Rajendra Bahadur Bhandari | Nepal | Athletics (3000m) | Norandrosterone | Gold | 2 Years | Om Prakash |
| Athletics (5000m) | Gold | Surendra Kumar Singh | ||||
| Jani Chathurangani Silva | Sri Lanka | Athletics (100m) | Nandrolone |  Silver | 2 Years | Sadaf Siddiqui |
| Athletics (4×100m Relay) | Gold | India |