Busan, Oct 14: South Koreans bid a touching farewell to thousands of their guests as a vibrant ceremony depicting the cultural heritage of the host nation brought the curtains down on the biggest ever Asian Games here today. Moments of triumph and failure during the last 16 days of competitions were forgotten with the participants gathering for one last time amidst rousing cheers from the capacity crowd as the first games of the millennium was ceremonially brought to a close.
Dazzling fireworks lit up the night sky to herald the start of the closing ceremony of the games which saw many new sporting heroes emerge in the Asian scene but powerhouse China continued to retain their stranglehold.
The games, symbolising prosperity and unification for a new millennium across Asia, saw over 6,000 athletes from all the 44 countries battle for glory and will be remembered for the first-time participation of a North Korean contingent on South Korean soil.
India put up their best display abroad in Asiad bagging 36 medals, including 11 gold, but ace long distance runner Sunita Rani`s testing positive for a banned substance did tarnish the image of the country to some extent.
The 70-minute closing ceremony, held at the magnificent main Asiad stadium, began with a marching band playing traditional Korean music which received a loud applause from the spectators many of whom had taken up their seats much before the scheduled start.

They were led into the stadium by the emblem flag-bearers. The flag sported signs of all the 38 games disciplines and also bore names of the participating nations.
Songs by popular singers and cultural dances depicting the bonds of friendship, formed the next part of the programme, setting the stage for formal speeches and ceremonial flag hoisting ceremonies.
The flags of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), the national flag of the host country and the national flag of the host crountry for the 15th Asian Games, Qatar, were hoisted.