Thais rip chaotic Asiad organization

NAGOYA, Japan (AFP) — Thailand is the latest country to condemn the organization in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan, likening it to a “chaotic” game of “musical chairs.”

Some athletes have complained of cramped accommodation, delays at airports and hours-long waits to board a cruise ship acting as a floating hotel.

Erratic transport services have seen competitors’ buses to training and venues turning up late or, in some cases, not at all.

The continent’s biggest sporting showpiece, with more than 17,000 athletes and officials, has faced several issues during its first full week.

No traditional athletes’ village has been built, as a cost-cutting measure, with participants instead staying in temporary container-style huts, hotels and the Costa Serena cruise ship moored in Nagoya port.

Several teams said there was a shortage of rooms.

“It remains a problem from the beginning until now,” Chalitrat Chandrubeksa, deputy secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, told AFP.

“The number of (rooms available on) cruise ships and hotels does not match our actual number of athletes,” he added.

“On the peak day, we required 201 beds on the cruise ship, but they provided only 170.”

“When athletes checked in and found their names missing from the list, they had to be placed somewhere else, and when the new athletes arrived, the previous ones had to move out and look for other hotels.

“It’s like musical chairs.”

Frustrated athletes have made their feelings known online, with complaints also about some of the food.

More than 4,000 people are staying on the ship in Nagoya’s port and 2,000 in the cramped wooden container huts, called “villas” by organizers.

“We are solving the problem by finding replacement accommodations ourselves,” Chalitrat said.