September 23: Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the 19th Asian Games in a colourful ceremony in Hangzhou city on Saturday, launching a two-week sporting extravaganza that boasts more athletes than the Olympics.

After being delayed by a year because of China's now-abandoned zero-Covid policy, more than 12,000 competitors from 45 nations and territories will battle it out in 40 sports, AFP reported.

According to the French news agency, Xi officially opened the Games at the 80,000-capacity Hangzhou Olympic Stadium, also known as "the Big Lotus".

Xi was given a rapturous reception by spectators waving mini Chinese flags.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was also among the dignitaries. Leaders from Cambodia, Kuwait and Nepal, among others, also attend the event.

The theme of the ceremony was water and it also celebrated Hangzhou's ancient history and landscape, while giving a nod to the city's reputation as the unofficial home of China's tech industry.

A "digital torch bearer" strode into the stadium and was projected onto a large screen behind the Games cauldron at the climax.

"I feel very happy and excited," AFP quoted a 35-year-old woman spectator surnamed Zhang as saying.

"I feel it's a great honour for the city."

Jung-Woo Lee, sport policy expert at the University of Edinburgh, told AFP the Games were "China's post-pandemic soft-power exercise".

China's status as a sporting and business destination took a severe hit during the pandemic, when snap lockdowns and strict travel rules saw almost all international events cancelled in the country.

The event has been rocked by a row between New Delhi and China over three Indian martial arts fighters, with a trip to the city by India's sports minister cancelled on Friday.

According to AFP, China denied Indian claims that the trio had been barred from entering the country.

Games athletes will fight for medals in Olympic staples such as athletics, swimming, football, gymnastics and cycling.

There will also be regional specialities including dragon boat racing, the Chinese martial art wushu and kabaddi.

Nine sports -- among them boxing, break dancing and tennis -- will serve as Asia qualifiers for next year's Paris Olympics.

Although the Games officially opened on Saturday, sports such as football, cricket, volleyball and table tennis had already begun.

The Games will be staged at 54 venues -- 14 newly constructed -- mostly in Hangzhou but also extending to cities as far afield as Wenzhou, 300 kilometres south, added AFP.