Bowling is set to return to the Asian Games at Doha 2030, ending a 12-year absence from Asia's biggest multi-sport event. The Korea Bowling Association said on November 13 that the Qatar Bowling Federation confirmed the sport has been adopted for the 2030 Games at an executive committee meeting held in Doha before this week's Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) General Assembly. Only the formal announcement by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the Qatar Olympic Committee is still to come.
The Asian Games are held every four years and are the largest multi-sport event outside the Olympics. Doha 2030 runs from November 4 to 19, 2030. Bowling was last on the programme at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and was left out of both Hangzhou 2023 and Aichi-Nagoya 2026. According to Yonhap, it was dropped before Hangzhou partly because South Korea and Japan dominated the medals, which reportedly cost it support from host nation China.
Who Confirmed Bowling for Doha 2030?
The news came first from Korea. Korean news agency Yonhap and CBS NoCut News reported the Korea Bowling Association's statement on November 13, the day after the ABF General Assembly in Doha, where Sheikh Talal Mohammad Al-Sabah was re-elected president. According to the association, the Qatar Bowling Federation confirmed the decision at the ABF executive committee meeting held before the assembly. Yonhap adds that the ABF had already said on its website on November 10 that bowling is one of the 40 official sports on the Doha 2030 programme.
Jeong Suk, the president of the Korea Bowling Association, was also re-elected as an ABF vice president at the assembly, for a term running to April 2030. Korea had lobbied for the sport's return: in March 2025 the association, together with National Assembly member and former bowler Jeon Yong-gi, met Korean Sport and Olympic Committee president Yoo Seung-min to ask for help getting bowling back on the Asian Games programme. None of the reports say which events would be held in 2030.
As of November 13, the OCA and the Qatar Olympic Committee have not published the final sports programme, and the published venue list does not yet include a bowling centre. Until they do, bowling's place in Doha is confirmed by the national federations rather than by the Games organisers.
How Long Has Bowling Been Part of the Asian Games?
Bowling first appeared at Bangkok 1978 and has been on the programme nine times. It was missing from New Delhi 1982 and Beijing 1990, then held at every Games from 1994 to 2018. Across those nine editions, 96 medal events were contested.
Doha has hosted Asian Games bowling before. When the city held the Games in 2006, bowling had 12 events. The most recent edition, in 2018, was cut to six events at the Jakabaring Bowling Center in Palembang, with no singles or doubles: trios, team of six and masters for both men and women. South Korea won both team golds, Japan's men and Malaysia's women won the trios, and the masters titles went to Malaysia's Muhammad Rafiq Ismail and Japan's Mirai Ishimoto.
Which Countries Have Won the Most Asian Games Bowling Medals?
South Korea is the most successful bowling nation in Asian Games history, with almost twice as many medals as Japan in second place.
All-time medal table
Nine editions, 96 events. Ranked by gold medals.
Thailand also has 24 medals, with 6 golds. At the last edition in 2018, Malaysia and Japan each matched South Korea's two golds.
Why Does It Matter for Bowling?
The news comes after a difficult period for bowling at multi-sport events. In September, the International World Games Association confirmed the programme for Karlsruhe 2029 without bowling, so the sport will miss the World Games for the second edition in a row after also being absent from Chengdu 2025. Bowling has also never been on the Olympic programme, as we covered in why bowling is not at the Olympics.
A return to the Asian Games would give Asian bowlers a top multi-sport goal again. The 2026 Asian Tenpin Bowling Championships are under way in Doha this month at the Qatar Bowling Federation's 30-lane centre, the same city that is now expected to bring the sport back. BowlingLife will update this story when the OCA or the Qatar Olympic Committee confirms bowling's place and the number of events.
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