The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games get under way this weekend under the shadow of a housing crisis that has organisers scrambling to placate athletes and officials from participating nations. The tournament has been mired in complaints over housing options after the host nation decided not to build a dedicated Games village for the 17,000 competitors and officials. To cut costs, organisers are relying on a cruise ship, temporary wooden cabins and hotels, but this temporary accommodation has met with criticism in the days leading up to the continental competition.
On Monday, South Korean officials slammed beds in shipping container-style huts as the “worst-ever”, as the South Korean basketball chief said the beds were too short to stretch out in. Jung Jae-yong, vice president of the Korea Basketball Association, accused the organisers of failing to respond to South Korea’s concerns. Player Byeon Jun-hyeong posted a video on social media showing a leaking sink and a soaked floor in his hut, writing: “Please help us.” Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino also said that while all his athletes had been given a room, “some officials, like coaches, were moved to different hotels and Airbnb”.
Head of Japan’s cricket association, Naoki Alex Miyaji, said in early September that cricket would get better accommodation than other sports, with participating teams offered hotel accommodation, while “many other sports are being accommodated in much more limited facilities, such as a cruise ship or container hotels.”
Ahead of the Games’ opening, chief organiser Hideaki Omura, who also serves as governor of Aichi prefecture, told AFP: “If there are different opinions, then we will respond to them appropriately. At this point, while we are responding to individual opinions, we have been improving everything as issues arise, and we will continue to respond that way.” He added that a committee of former athletes, including Olympians, gave a favourable assessment of the plans for the huts built this year.
The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) had also anticipated accommodation “challenges” and secured hotels in the city as a backup. Deputy Chef de Mission Hisashi Mizutori told a news conference that there have been cases where coaches, team officials and athletes were assigned to the same room, and situations where room assignments were made purely based on numbers, such as assigning five twin rooms for a group of five men and five women. “While the numbers match on paper, practically it creates challenging situations,” he said, adding that the JOC is coordinating adjustments and considering backup accommodations prepared in advance.
While the opening ceremony has yet to take place, several events such as basketball, football, cricket, hockey and modern pentathlon have already begun. On Thursday, Tropical Storm Dujuan was located off Japan’s Pacific coast and heading northwest towards central Japan, where Nagoya is located. Last week, torrential rains hit Nagoya and surrounding areas, forcing schools to close and suspending train services; several hundred athletes were also forced to leave their accommodation. Kosei Inoue, Japan’s chef de mission, said some competitions have already experienced “delays or postponements, and there is also a possibility that a typhoon could approach on September 21”.
Source: www.aljazeera.com