The third Asian Indoor Games (AIG) in Vietnam, taking place from October 30 to November 8, will have 21 sports with 219 sets of medals for athletes from 45 countries and territories.

The slogan of the games is “For a Developed Asia” and its symbol is a torch – lotus and the Asian Sports Council’s logo. The emblem is a Ga Ho, a rare species of Vietnamese chicken.

Of 21 sports, there are 20 official and one performance sport. Competitions will take place at 27 sports houses in Hanoi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, and Quang Ninh.

Pham Quang Ban, the chief of the Asian Indoor Games sub-committee, said that HCM City is repairing 11 works to serve the AIG. The construction is scheduled to finish in July. The city is also carrying out other tasks, such as recruiting volunteers, advertising, and logistics.

Vietnam aims to enter the top eight countries at the AIG 2009. Vietnam ranked the 21^st at the AIG 2005 with one silver and one bronze medal, and 13^th at the AIG 2007 with two gold, five silver, and eleven bronze medals.

Sports at AIG 2009 include: track-and-field, aquatic sports, dancing, pentanque, women’s self-defence martial arts, shuttle-cock, sepak takraw, Kabadi, Kurash, E-sport, archery, sport aerobics, pencak silat, chess, Chinese chess, futsal, basketball, martial arts, billiard & snooker, unicorn dancing and Jufitsu & Beltwrestling.

VietNamNet/VNE