organize a multi-sport event to include the countries of West Asia too, this gave a birth to "Orient Championship Games", which later renamed as Western Asiatic Games before its first inception. The scope of the Games comprised all the countries east of Suez and west of Singapore. The First Western Asiatic Games was celebrated in Delhi in 1934 at the Irwin Amphitheater, in which four countries—Afghanistan, British India, Palestine Mandate and Ceylon—participated. The decision was made to hold these Games once in four years at midpoint between the two successive Summer Olympics. The 1938 Western Asiatic Games were scheduled to be held in Tel Aviv, Palestine Mandate. However, the Games was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II, and abandoned until 1951 Games, which also considered as the revival of Western Asiatic Games. Host city selection On 12 and 13 February 1949, a meeting was organized at the Patiala House, in Delhi, in between the representatives of nine Asian National Olympic Committees. The framework of the meeting was set up in another meeting held on 8 August 1948 during the Second London Olympics, which was called by the Indian Olympic Committee's representative Guru Dutt Sondhi. The meeting was chaired by Yadavindra Singh, president of the Indian Olympic Association. On the last day, Asian Games Federation (AGF) was formalized and a draft constitution was accepted. HRH Yadavindra Singh and Guru Dutt Sondhi were respectively elected as the first president and the secretary of the federation. The five charter members forming the federation were Afghanistan, Burma, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The decision was made to organize the Asian Games Championships in four-year intervals since the inception of the Games in Delhi in February, 1950. HRH Yadavindra Singh, who also became the president of the organization committee of Games sent the formal invitation to several other Asian countries to participate in the 1950 Asian Games. Organization The responsibility of organizing the First Asian Games was assigned to a special committee that included Anthony de Mello; the Maharaja of Patiala/ president of the Indian Olympic Association Yadavindra Singh; Indian Olympic Association Secretary Guru Dutt Sondhi; and officials playing a key role such as S. Bhoot, Nariman Saugar who did much work with the stadium, and others. The Organizing Committee was: President: Yadavindra Singh, Maharaja of Patiala; Director: Anthony de Mello; Hon. Treasurer: S.P. Chopra; Members: General K. M. Cariappa, Sir Girja