After a year’s delay, the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, have kicked off for a 16-day run with an opening ceremony on Saturday.

The ceremony took place at the lotus-shaped Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, with Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, dignitaries and representatives of other Asian countries in attendance.

Led by two flagbearers, fencer Gu Bon-gil and swimmer Kim Seo-yeong, the South Korean delegation marched into the stadium 16th among 45 participating nations. The North Korea delegation was the seventh.

Hwang Sun-woo will vie for gold in the men’s 100-meter freestyle on Sunday, while Song Se-ra and Choi In-jeong will also compete for gold in the women’s individual epee.

The South Korean football team, which already has a berth for the knockout stage, will play Bahrain on Sunday for its third and final group E match.

Team Korea has sent a record one-thousand-140 athletes and officials to Hangzhou, aiming to garner over 50 gold medals for an overall third-place finish in the medal count.