The Asiad can arguably be considered the brainchild of an Indian, Professor Guru Dutt Sondhi, representative of India at the International Olympic committee during 1948. He suggested the creation of a competition like the Olympic games between the nations of Asia to promote solidarity between them, and by 13 February 1949, the Asian Athletic Federation was formally inaugurated in New Delhi, alongside the name Asian Games Federation, with New Delhi announced as the first host city of the Asian Games which were scheduled to be held in 1950, though problems postponed the year to 1951, and since then the game has been held every 4 years.

India has always been a strong presence in the Asian games and has, with one exception (in the 1980 Beijing Olympics) ranked in the top ten, and has been in the top 3 twice in the event`s 51 year history. Famous performers like Milkha Singh, Ajmer Singh, Makhan Singh, and Gurbachan Randhawa were all champion performers from India, and amongst women, P.T. Usha and Anju Bobby George have performed with great distinction in athletic events at the Asian games.

PT Usha excelled in the Asian Games tracks for more than a decade. After her retirement, the women athletes have been consistently improving and they also managed to hold on to their position. Anju Bobby George was the first women athlete to win a Commonwealth Games medal. In the 1998 Asian Games, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar from Bengal, India became the first woman athlete in 12 years to win gold for India as she won both the 800 metres and 1500 metres events. The Indian women Hockey Team could win the gold medal only in the year of 1982 Asian Games at home. However, the Indian men Hockey Team have had more success than the women team. They won the gold in the Asian Games twice in the years of 1966 and 1998.

A few other notable medallists at the Asian games include Jaspal Rana (shooting), and Karnam Malleshwari (weightlifting), in 1994. In archery, India had a gold medallist in the name of NG Dingko Singh and a bronze medallist in Gurcharan Singh.

At the 2010 Asiad held at Guangzhou, China; India recorded its best ever medal tally with 14 Gold, 17 Silver and 33 Bronze medals, placed 6th in the rankings, and recorded its first medals in Roller sports and Gymnastics.

Total 44 sports were presented in Asiad Games history, including 2010 Games in Guangzhou.