The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has officially confirmed the 16th Asian Games as the biggest in history in terms of athlete participation.

At a Chefs de Mission meeting on Wednesday following the final registration by the 45 countries and regions, the official figure of 9,704 athletes was 184 more than the 9,520 who competed in Doha, Qatar, four years ago.

The Manager of the OCA's Asian Games Department, Haider A. Farman, confirmed this figure as the highest in the history of the event, with a record-high 42 sports.

With 4,750 team officials also in Guangzhou, the final number of NOC representatives is 14,454.