On the night of 30 Oct. Asian indoor games 3 was officially opened in a solemn atmostphere in Hanoi, colorful and brimful, of Vietnam traditional culture. This great sports event received attention from the media of countries in Asian region as well as major press agencies.

AFP had a feature on “Vietnam‘s ready to host the big sports event successfully”, which dealt with all difficulties of Vietnam during the time of hosting the Games, in particular in finding a sponsor at the stage of global economic crisis. But overcoming all difficulties, Vietnam has gone through 2 years of preparation. Finally, Vietnam is ready and hopes a lot in hosting the Games that is success fully up to international standards. AFP accesses the host of the Games in success is a new step forward in the ability of hosting great events in Vietnam.

BBC agency highly appreciated the traditional cultural aspect that the opening ceremony of AI Games III brought. The image of Xuan Phai in the horse dance, is an original folk dance of North Vietnam, from the time that the king of the Ding dynasty crushed the 12 warloards, which was part of the spectacular performances of AI Games III’s opening ceremony. It has become BBC’s typical photograph of the day. The Games’ opening ceremony was an act that popularized the beauty of Vietnamese’s rich and profound culture. Xinhue, China agency also spread news on the AI Games III’s opening ceremony, simultaneously quoting the statement of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh, “The Games will contribute noticeably to the solidarity, cooperation and development of Asia.”

With at the opening ceremony taken place at the My Dinh national stadium, many newspapers of the Philippines, including the Manilastandard, said a lot about the professional aspect of the Games. Although Asian Indoor Games is the sports festival for the youth and mainly focuses on competitions that are not on ASIAD system. But with all Filipino athletes, this is a very meaningful and important tournament, on some games such as bowling, boxing, etc. According to the Manilastandard, all Filipino showed their competitive determination wholeheartedly to prepare for other important tournament taking place in a near future. Meanwhile, the new Straits Times of Malaysia emphasized “With the impressive opening ceremony in Hanoi, Asia Indoor Games3 – youth’s festival – is officially started “

Coming to this Games, Malaysia has brought many young athletes, the new Straits Times affirms the Games is a golden opportunity for all young atheletes to learn and prove oneself.

(Source: AI Games3 Vietnam 2009)