The 8th Children of Asia Games were held from June 25 to July 7, 2024 in their historical homeland in Yakutsk. The Games returned to Yakutsk 8 years later and became a real celebration of sports and friendship. More than 2,000 athletes from 24 countries took part in competitions: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Georgia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, DPRK, China, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Palestine, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Russia, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan.
During the Games, 239 sets of medals were awarded in 24 sports: athletics, 3×3 basketball, dance sports "breaking" and "ten dance", mas-wrestling, rhythmic gymnastics, boxing, rock climbing, volleyball, mini-football, taekwondo, judo, kurash, swimming, sambo, wrestling, alysh, khapsagai, shooting sport, archery, chess, go, table tennis, kickboxing, trap shooting.
Interesting facts:
- For the first time in the history of the Children of Asia Games, Merey Akshalov, an alumnus of the 3rd Games, world and Asian boxing champion, was appointed the main referee.
- 1,900 volunteers and 707 referees from 17 countries served the Games.
- 100 days before the start of the 8th Children of Asia Games, as part of the fire lighting in the Lena Pillars National Park, a hockey match was held with the participation of Olympic, European and world champions. Especially for this purpose, a hockey rink was set up right at the foot of the Lena Pillars.
- The 8th Games were presented in Moscow, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand within major sports and cultural events.
- The 8th Games logo refers to a child in motion in the Tuymaada Valley under the bright summer sun. The silhouette of the child also symbolizes friendship, cooperation and mutual respect between participants of the Games, reflecting the idea that sport unites children from all over Asia, regardless of their nationality, language and culture.
- The mascot of the 8th Children of Asia Games was chosen a baby mammoth, embodying power, wisdom and kindness since Yakutia is also known as the homeland of mammoths. More than 70% of the world's fossil mammoth bone and other remnants of mammoth fauna are concentrated on the territory of Yakutia. Also, for the first time in the history of the Children of Asia Games volunteering, a special mascot for volunteer was offered – a chipmunk personifying dexterity, strength and speed. The mammoth was named Modun - in Yakut it means "strong, powerful", and the chipmunk is Saina, from the Yakut language translated as "summer".
- The flag of the Children of Asia International Committee was introduced by alumni of the Children of Asia Games of different years: Tuyana Dashidorzhieva – silver medalist of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in archery, Vasily Levit – silver medalist of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in boxing, Victoria An – multiple Asian champion in athletics, Sakshi Malik – bronze winner of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling, Viktor Lebedev is a two-time world champion in freestyle wrestling, Phannapa Harnsujin is a world champion in taekwondo, Yuri Krakovetsky is a silver medalist of the Asian Judo Championship.
