Immediately after Saturday night's opening ceremony, rowers will contest the first gold medal of the Games at Fuyang Water Sports Centre, where the women's lightweight double sculls final will take place on Sunday morning.

China's national champion pair Zou Jiaqi and Qiu Xiuping will battle against five other competing teams, including Japan, Indonesia and Uzbekistan, for the coveted opening gold.

The fight for Olympic qualification quotas for next year's Paris Games headlines a packed schedule of world-class athletic action across nine sports. The Hangzhou Asiad will also shine a spotlight on a number of youthful, fashion-oriented sports, including breaking, skateboarding and esports, as well as some traditional and regional disciplines, such as sepak-takraw, kabaddi and squash.

The diversity of the Asian Games is the event's biggest strength, reckons Wei Jizhong, honorary life vice-president of the OCA.

"We are the Games for all Asian people, in all countries and regions. So the Asian Games are open to all NOC members of the OCA," he said. "This means our Games are not only concentrated on elite sports, but all the sportspeople and sports lovers in Asia are welcomed into our family."