Leaking cabins, hotel shortages: Asian Games face logistical problems & typhoon fears

A view of the Costa Serena cruise ship, housing athletes for the Asian Games, at Nagoya Port, Japan. (PTI Photo)

Nagoya was flattened during World War II, it was a primary target for US strategic bombing during World War II because it served as Japan’s major hub for aircraft and munitions manufacturing.

During World War II, Nagoya suffered extensive damage from air raids due to its role as an industrial center. The city’s industrial facilities, including the castle, were largely destroyed. However, the post-war period would see Nagoya rise from these ashes to become one of Japan’s most important industrial and economic centers.More than eight decades later, the Japanese city is hosting thousands of athletes and officials for the Asian Games, but the build-up to the event has been marked by problems with accommodation and transport.Defending Asian Games men's football champions South Korea were late for a training session on Wednesday after the bus arranged for the team failed to arrive at their hotel, Reuters reported.The Koreans, who opened their campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Games with a 4-1 win over Qatar on Tuesday, reached their recovery session in Nagoya 20 minutes late after officials had to arrange a replacement bus.The transport problem came a day after another mix-up involving the South Korean team.

The bus taking them to their opening match went to a baseball ground instead of the Mizuho Rugby Stadium. The team eventually reached the stadium 30 minutes after the scheduled arrival time.The incidents have added to a series of concerns around transport and accommodation ahead of the official opening of the Asian Games in Japan on Saturday. Some events, including football, have already begun before the opening ceremony.The 20th Asian Games will bring together more than 17,000 athletes and officials, including Olympic and world champions. The Games are being held mainly in the port city of Nagoya and across the wider Aichi prefecture, with competition running until October 4.Nagoya has more than two million residents and is the fourth biggest city in Japan by population.The Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, which can hold 30,000 people, will be the main venue for the Games and will host athletics as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.

Swimming, one of the most closely watched events, will be held 350 kilometres (200 miles) east in Tokyo.The Games are being held every four years, with places at the 2028 Olympics also up for grabs in some events.

More than 17,000 competitors and officials

Accommodation has been one of the main issues in the build-up to the Games. South Korea's Olympic committee said on Monday there was "a serious shortage of accommodation" at the event, while officials from the Philippines turned to Airbnb.The problem continued into Thursday, with even the host Japan team looking at alternative arrangements after cases in which male and female athletes were allocated shared rooms.Local organisers had initially expected about 15,000 athletes and officials to attend. They later said they had "neither the manpower nor the budget" to deal with the higher number.Organisers subsequently issued a joint statement with the Olympic Council of Asia saying that all athletes and officials registered before the July deadline would be "provided with Games-appropriate accommodation".More than 17,000 competitors and officials are expected to attend the Games.

Accommodation and transport problems

The number of participants, which is higher than at the Olympics, has created problems for organisers who initially planned for 15,000 people and have had to find accommodation for the additional participants.They decided not to build a dedicated athletes' village in order to reduce costs. Instead, athletes and officials are being housed in a mix of hotels, a cruise ship and temporary accommodation, including wooden cabins and shipping container-style huts.Organisers have said the 20th edition of the Games, first held in 1951, will be "the most spectacular for generations".Between 4,000 and 5,000 athletes and officials will stay on the Italian cruise ship Costa Serena. The ship has 571 cabins, seven swimming pools, eight restaurants and nine bars.Cruise ships have previously been used as accommodation at international sporting events, but never on this scale.The arrangement has raised concerns among some participating countries.

India even built replica container huts to prepare its athletes for their stay in Japan.A senior coach accompanying India's 30-member shooting contingent has also expressed disappointment with the arrangements, particularly the amount of time needed to travel between the accommodation and the training and competition venue.The coach, as quoted by PTI, said he had arrived in Japan with a certain level of expectation but felt the arrangements had not matched the image he had of the country.

Indian shooters have been housed around 50km from the range and in different hotels.For a contingent that includes several of India's medal hopefuls, including double Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker and multiple Asian Games medallist Esha Singh, the commute has meant early starts and long hours on the road to maintain their training schedules.“This (transportation) is a real problem. But what can we do about it? I didn’t see any hotels in the vicinity of the shooting range.

If there were, we would have reached early. They gave us accommodation at a place which was far, so now what can we do about it?” the coach, who was not named, said, as quoted by PTI.South Korean sports officials on Monday described the accommodation facilities as "the worst" they had experienced at the Games and said the beds were too short.With only days remaining before the opening ceremony, a Korean Olympic committee official was quoted as saying by AFP that there was "a serious shortage of accommodation".There have also been concerns about the condition of the shipping container-style huts, which are expected to house around 2,000 athletes and officials.South Korean basketball player Byeon Jun-hyeong posted a video on social media showing a leaking sink and a wet floor inside his hut.He posted the caption, "Please help us".

Typhoon adds to concerns

Japan did not build a dedicated athletes' village as part of its effort to reduce costs. Some competitors are staying in hotels, while others are being housed on a cruise liner docked at Nagoya's port.

Temporary wooden cabins are also being used.Organisers have said the cruise ship will provide a memorable experience for those staying on board, but weather conditions could create another problem.September and October are typhoon season in Japan. The Costa Serena can house about 4,000 people and is the twin ship of the Costa Concordia, which sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 people.

The weather has already caused problems for the Games. Last week, heavy rainfall hit Nagoya and forced participants staying in the shipping container-style accommodation to evacuate temporarily.Several teams have complained about the condition of the huts, including the length of the beds, while others have raised concerns about a shortage of rooms.On Thursday, two days before the opening ceremony, weather forecasters predicted that a typhoon could hit Japan's main island, where Nagoya is located, on Sunday or Monday.Such weather could affect the estimated 4,000 Games participants staying on the cruise ship in Nagoya's port."All we can do is to pray that the worst-case scenario will not happen," The Asahi Shimbun quoted an unnamed sports federation official as saying.