|  | |
| Host city | Bangkok, Thailand | 
|---|---|
| Nations | 25 | 
| Athletes | 3,842 | 
| Events | 199 in 19 sports | 
| Opening | 9 December 1978 | 
| Closing | 20 December 1978 | 
| Opened by | Bhumibol Adulyadej King of Thailand | 
| Main venue | National Stadium | 
The 8th Asian Games (Thai: เอเชียนเกมส์ 2521) were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was decided to host the 8th Games. But Islamabad also dropped its plan to host the Asian Games due to conflicts with Bangladesh and India.
Thailand offered to help and the Asiad therefore was held in Bangkok. On the political front, Israel was expelled from the Asian Games. A total number of 3,842 athletes, coming from 25 countries, competed in these Asian Games. Debuting sports were archery and bowling.[1]
Sports
 Archery (4) () Archery (4) ()
 Athletics (39) () Athletics (39) ()
 Badminton (7) () Badminton (7) ()
 Basketball (2) () Basketball (2) ()
 Bowling (10) () Bowling (10) ()
 Boxing (11) () Boxing (11) ()
_pictogram.svg.png.webp) Cycling (6) () Cycling (6) ()
 Diving (4) () Diving (4) ()
 Fencing (8) () Fencing (8) ()
 Field hockey (1) () Field hockey (1) ()
 Football (1) () Football (1) ()
_pictogram.svg.png.webp) Gymnastics (14) () Gymnastics (14) ()
 Sailing (4) () Sailing (4) ()
 Shooting (22) () Shooting (22) ()
 Swimming (29) () Swimming (29) ()
 Table tennis (7) () Table tennis (7) ()
 Tennis (7) () Tennis (7) ()
_pictogram.svg.png.webp) Volleyball (2) () Volleyball (2) ()
 Water polo (1) () Water polo (1) ()
 Weightlifting (10) () Weightlifting (10) ()
 Wrestling (10) () Wrestling (10) ()
Participating nations
25 out of 32 Olympic Council of Asia members participated in these games. Iran just sent only one official and did not participate in the games due to the political situation in Iran at the time.[2]
.svg.png.webp) Bahrain Bahrain
 Bangladesh Bangladesh
.svg.png.webp) Burma Burma
 China (408) China (408)
.svg.png.webp) Hong Kong Hong Kong
 India India
 Indonesia Indonesia
.svg.png.webp) Iraq Iraq
.svg.png.webp) Japan (460) Japan (460)
 Kuwait Kuwait
 Lebanon (3) Lebanon (3)
 Malaysia Malaysia
.svg.png.webp) Mongolia Mongolia
 Nepal Nepal
.svg.png.webp) North Korea North Korea
 Pakistan Pakistan
.svg.png.webp) Philippines Philippines
 Qatar Qatar
 Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
 Singapore (76) Singapore (76)
.svg.png.webp) South Korea South Korea
 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
.svg.png.webp) Syria Syria
 Thailand Thailand
 United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
Medal table
The top ten ranked NOCs at these Games are listed below. The host nation, Thailand, is highlighted.
* Host nation (Thailand)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | .svg.png.webp) Japan (JPN) | 70 | 59 | 49 | 178 | 
| 2 |  China (CHN) | 51 | 54 | 46 | 151 | 
| 3 | .svg.png.webp) South Korea (KOR) | 18 | 20 | 31 | 69 | 
| 4 | .svg.png.webp) North Korea (PRK) | 15 | 13 | 15 | 43 | 
| 5 |  Thailand (THA)* | 11 | 12 | 19 | 42 | 
| 6 |  India (IND) | 11 | 11 | 6 | 28 | 
| 7 |  Indonesia (INA) | 8 | 7 | 18 | 33 | 
| 8 |  Pakistan (PAK) | 4 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 
| 9 | .svg.png.webp) Philippines (PHI) | 4 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 
| 10 | .svg.png.webp) Iraq (IRQ) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 
| 11–19 | Remaining | 7 | 11 | 21 | 39 | 
| Totals (19 entries) | 201 | 199 | 226 | 626 | |
References
- ↑ "8th Asian Games Bangkok 1978". Olympic Council of Asia. Archived from the original on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ↑ "Pomp and Pageantry Fit for a King ..." The Straits Times. 10 December 1978. Retrieved 12 July 2012.





