Athletes enter the stadium during the closing ceremony at the end of the 15th Asian Games in Doha. The Games, which have been the biggest ever staged, officially end tonight at a closing ceremony themed on the famous Middle eastern tale "A Thousand and One Nights".   Dec. 16 - It was bigger and better than ever before and ended up being all about China, which demolished its regional opposition once again as it prepares for the Beijing Olympics.

 

The Doha Asian Games were the most ambitious in the event's 55-year history with more athletes from more countries competing than before over 15 days of competition.

 

Five world records were smashed and one was equalled, while 24 Asian marks fell.

 

"Asia is emerging as a sporting powerhouse," said Olympic Council of Asia director general Husain Al Musallam.

 

"Thirty-eight countries won medals which is a true indication of the popularity and spread of the Asian Games to all corners of Asia.

 

"The standards are getting higher and higher."

 

But the regional showpiece was also blackened by positive doping tests and the death of South Korean equestrian rider Kim Hyung-Chil, crushed by his horse after being thrown.

 

The event also struggled through some of the worst rain in 40 years in the usually dry desert state.

 

China topped the medal table with 165 gold, 15 more than the 150 it won at the last Games in Busan four years ago, setting it up nicely for its assault on America's stranglehold on the Olympics.

 

South Korea came second (58) but far behind its efforts on home soil in Busan. Japan (50), Kazakhstan (23) and Thailand (13) rounded out the top five.

 

Of the 45 countries and regions taking part just seven failed to win a medal -- Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Maldives, Oman, and Palestinian territories, but it was about more than standing on the podium.

 

Iraq made a triumphant return after 20 years, winning two silver and one bronze, including a run to the football final where it lost 1-0 to host Qatar.

 

Mu Shuangshuang smashed the world snatch mark on the way to winning gold in the +75kg category of the women's weightlifting, while Thailand's Pawina Thongsuk set a world mark in the clean and jerk of the women's 63kg.

 

China's Chen Yanqing produced three world records to win gold in the women's 58kg category and Indian shooter Jaspal Rana equalled a 17-year-old world mark on his way to winning the 25m Centre Fire Pistol individual gold medal.

 

China came out on top after six days on the track and field, with 110m hurdles world record holder Liu Xiang hogging the limelight with a new Asian record.

 

Qatar and Bahrain also enjoyed unprecedented success on the track but it was mostly through foreign-recruited athletes.

 

Bahrain's Ethiopian-born Maryam Jusuf Jamal was the standout, taking a rare middle distance double in the women's 800m and 1500m.

 

Japan ended their dominance in regional swimming as South Korean Park Tae-Hwan, the outstanding individual, collected three freestyle gold medals.

 

And Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia upstaged Chinese world No.1 Lin Dan in the men's badminton final after a spat in which he labelled him arrogant and widely disliked.

 

China's Zheng Jie upstaged Indian favourite Sania Mirza to win the women's tennis title while up-and-coming Thai star Danai Udomchoke took the men's.

 

While some sports, like kabaddi and badminton, saw healthy crowds, many other events were played out in front of acres of empty seats as Qataris stayed away.

 

Security fears though were unfounded with the event passing without incident.

 

Once again drugs marred the event with four positive dope tests and one athlete, Iraqi bodybuilder Saad Faeaz, thrown out for trying to bring large quantities of performance enhancing drugs into the country.

 

The other culprits were all in weightlifting -- Kyi Kyi Than and Oo Mya Sanda from Myanmar and Elmira Ramileva and Alexander Urinov from Uzbekistan.

 

The gas-rich state, a wealthy port city and key US ally in the region, invested 2.8 billion dollars in the Asian Games and now has its sights set on the 2016 Olympics.

 

The next Asiad is in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in 2010.