1923 Far Eastern Championship Games
The 1923 Far Eastern Championship Games were the sixth edition of the regional multi-sport event held for East Asian nations. The games took place in Osaka, Japan, from May 21 to May 25, 1923, and were hosted by the Empire of Japan. Osaka was the only city to host the event; Tokyo had previously hosted, and invited participants from Java (Dutch East Indies), Thailand, and French Indochina had declined to take part.
Three nations competed: the Republic of China, the Japanese Empire, and the Philippine Islands (Philippines). The main venue was the Osaka Municipal Athletic Field. Eight sports were contested over the five days, including athletics, baseball, basketball, diving, football, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Women competed for the first time, and there were demonstration matches in tennis and volleyball that did not award medals as part of the official program.
A notable highlight came in basketball when Lou Salvador of the Philippines scored 116 points in a single international game, setting an all-time record and helping the Philippines win the gold medal by defeating China.
In football, China was represented by South China AA, a club based in Hong Kong. There were calls within China for a boycott due to Japan-China tensions, but the Chinese delegation, led by an American YMCA branch, still participated. This raised questions about national sovereignty in international sports at the time.
Summary: The 1923 games brought together three nations for eight sports over five days in Osaka, marking the first and only time the city hosted the event and introducing women competitors to the games.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 20:09 (CET).