Organisers fend off bed-size complaints in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept 27 - It was never going to be a bed of roses when container-style blocks were used to house athletes, but Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games organisers said using ottomans as extensions could have brought more comfort to taller competitors.

Complaints about cramped rooms and small beds surfaced on social media from athletes staying in the modular units, adding to the woes of the organisers, who have drawn flak for not building a traditional Athletes' Village.

On Sunday, media were given a peek inside the container-style athletes' accommodation at the Garden Pier that looked like a minimalist Lego city.

The wood-lined rooms looked compact and the beds appeared short — especially for typically tall basketball players — though a separate, spacious dining hall and a shop selling basic necessities aimed to offset the squeeze.

South Korea have already moved their men's basketball team into standard hotels, but Yuta Matsuo, deputy director of the Games' athlete accommodation section, and his team braved rain to explain the "sustainable" rationale behind the setup.

"The most requests we have received was about the size of the bed, particularly from the basketball players and other athletes with larger physiques," Matsuo told reporters.

"When there were more beds and more people staying in the rooms, they felt the space was rather cramped.

"We had thought that the bed extension, ottomans, could be used effectively to make better use of the available space. However, we could have done a better job of explaining how these tools could be used, because they may not have been used as effectively as we had hoped.

"Going forward, we would like to improve the way we communicate what these items are for and how they can be used, so that we can provide the athletes with a more comfortable environment during their stay."

The organisers are also using a cruise ship and hotels to accommodate 17,000 athletes and officials who have descended on the port city.

"It is becoming increasingly difficult in Japan to develop entirely new facilities," Matsuo said, referring to the absence of a dedicated Athletes' Village.

"So in terms of how to make the most effective use of existing facilities while ensuring that they properly meet the needs of the athletes, we hope to continue making improvements in these areas."

Coach of the Mongolian women's basketball team Javier Garcia Alvarez has been critical of the accommodations.

"Especially for basketball players who are like 185, 190 centimetres, it's not easy," Alvarez told Reuters.

"When you are coming to these villages and they are like this, I mean, you have to adapt to this. It's almost like camping, it's like a camp."

India used similar units for some of their athletes to acclimatise for the continental showpiece. REUTERS