{EDITOR’S NOTE}
“Politics is comparable to boxing. The only thing is
that in politics, there are basically no rules.”Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian boxerASIAN Geographic can be found on board and
at the following locations:sports and politics are among some of the most divisive areas of life. Either
you’re into them, or you’re not; either you root for this side, or you don’t. But
at the core of both these subjects lies the story of our existential struggle – a
wonderfully conflicted, primitively emotional struggle – that marks every
sporting endeavour and policy decision, lending these fields histories full of
rich significance to the human race.
This year, the quadrennial Asian Games – a massive sports event that
often gets mixed up with some of its regional variants (pg 68) – will be hosted
here in Southeast Asia. We appraise several local sports that set the Asiad’s
lineup apart from its Olympic counterpart (pg 56), and drop in on three
unique sportspeople gearing up for August (pg 70). But the 18th Games’ most
interesting aspect could just be its return to Indonesia, a place where, over a
half-century ago, Jakarta’s controversial hosting decisions shocked the 1960s’
worlds of sports and politics (pg 46). Every sport has a story.
Indonesian politics also kicks off another fascinating tale: how five
Southeast Asian men managed to create the first Asian miracle of the 20th
century – the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Helped by a few rounds of
golf and drinks, these powerful diplomats succeeded in getting their respective
countries – many with histories of border invasions and bitter grudges – to team
up into a bloc that today still merits international admiration (pg 76). Family and
friends share memories of these master negotiators (pg 81).
So maybe you don’t quite like exercise. Or parliament. Still, there’s always
the fact that if we go back far enough, the beginnings of every political and
sporting body – however large and impersonal they seem today – are likely the
same: a couple of people huddled together, creating, debating and desperately
coaxing something new into existence. And that means there’s always going to
be that fascinating bit of story somewhere, waiting to be discovered.
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