Kuwait, April 17:

The South Korean city Incheon today won the right to host 2014 Asian Games, fending off a challenge from New Delhi.

It will be the third time Korea has played host following Seoul in 1986 and Busan in 2002. Seoul also held the Olympics in 1988.

The New Delhi delegation was devastated after insisting it was the frontrunner and had a right to win, having been overlooked since it was last selected in 1982. The vote swung in Incheon’s favour after frantic last-minute lobbying by both sides of the 45 Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) nations making up the body that controls sport in the region.

“There is no loser and no winner tonight,” said OCA president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah in announcing the decision. The Asiad is expected to have a massive economic impact on the city, with officials forecasting it will create 270,000 new jobs and attract huge foreign investment. It will also likely change the landscape of Incheon, with the construction of an athletes’ village, sports parks and a public golf course.

The city currently has 11 Olympic-standard sports facilities, with four more being upgraded and five new stadiums in the planning phase. Another 17 will be built before the event.

Prior to the final vote, Incheon held a 30-minute presentation that included a video message from South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. It promised to raise $20 million to support Asian countries that have not yet won medals in the event. New Delhi was unable to match that figure.

New Delhi had based its “bid of a billion people” on its hospitality and said publicly it would offer free flights and accommodation to all the participants if it won. It also claimed it was its turn to play host and said it would have the necessary infrastructure in place with the Commonwealth Games being held in Delhi in 2010. Hosting the Games is a huge task and the bar was set even higher by Doha in December, which staged what was considered the best Asiad to date. Guangzhou in China hosts the 2010 event.