Typhoon Dujuan reroutes two Team Singapore athletes heading to Asian Games

SINGAPORE – Two Team Singapore athletes due to compete in the Asian Games in Japan have had to change their travel plans because of Typhoon Dujuan.

In response to media queries on Sept 21, a spokesperson for the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) said that the unnamed athletes’ flight to Nagoya from Tokyo, where they had been for a pre-Games competition, was cancelled because of the impending typhoon.

Alternative travel arrangements were made and they travelled to Nagoya on the shinkansen bullet train on the same day.

“The majority of Team Singapore travelled directly from Singapore to Nagoya, and their travel plans have not been affected,” the SNOC said.

The organisation’s secretariat is continuing to monitor the situation closely for teams already in Japan, it added.

“The secretariat is working with the respective teams to make the necessary adjustments to travel and competition arrangements, where required, to minimise disruption to their preparations for the Games while ensuring their safety and well-being,” it said.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Sept 21 and more than a million people were under evacuation advisories in Japan as Typhoon Dujuan approached Tokyo.

Record rainfall is expected near Tokyo as the storm with 144kmh winds tracked 130km south of Katsuura City, near the Japanese capital, on Sept 21.

At least 260 domestic flights and 15 international flights were cancelled on Sept 21, Reuters reported.

Scoot, the low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, said four of its flights had been rescheduled owing to the adverse weather conditions.

Some events at the Asian Games, which run from Sept 19 to Oct 4, have been disrupted by Dujuan.

Most of the programme is being held in Japan’s central Aichi Prefecture, where Nagoya is the largest city, while aquatics and equestrian events are in Tokyo.

Organisers on Sept 21 postponed the equestrian competition by a day because of adverse weather.

SNOC confirmed that the swimming programme, which runs from Sept 20-25 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, will go ahead as planned.

A contingent of 304 athletes are representing Singapore across 27 sports at the Games. Of these, 29 are swimmers and six divers. Singapore is not competing in equestrian at this edition of the Games.