JUST on the other side of the Games Village at Nagoya Port – one of the few villages for the Aichi-Nagoya Games – statues of two dogs stand looking at the container accommodations for athletes. The bronze memorial statues are testament to resilience and survival.The story goes that Japan's first expedition to Antarctica was marred due to bad weather and the 15 sled dogs had to be abandoned in the harsh weather because there was no room during air evacuation. Out of the 15, two miraculously survived – Taro and Jiro. They became symbols of perseverance and fortitude for the entire country. The ship Fuji that carried them was moored at the same port.
They stand there watching the container-turned room accommodations for thousands of athletes who would be scripting their own story of human resilience, fortitude and endurance the next 17 days at the Asian Games here beginning on Saturday. On Friday, some of the national teams were going through their customary Welcome Ceremony where the country's flags were hoisted.
Just like the start to the Games that was overshadowed by logistical issues, the Welcome Ceremony too had its share of unwanted delay – almost an hour. The reasons were not explained well by the organizers but there was ‘trouble’ when ushered-in teams were asked to leave the venue, wait for about an hour before making their way back and wait in the holding area.
The cluster of teams bunched together would have been jaw-dropping, especially with the politically-charged atmosphere in their respective countries. The Palestine team had their scarves on with the entire map of the region etched on them. The North Korean team made a quiet entry. Then, there was Chinese Taipei, Yemen and East Timor. Among them was India. Though the Asian Games is all about sports, it is difficult to name the countries in geo-political isolation.
Though chef de mission Sahdev Yadav was present in the first part of the march for Welcome Ceremony, he missed the final one because of other engagements. Yet, he found time to clarify quite a few issues that plagued Indian athletes. His explanation seemed logical and also confirmed what had been reported by this daily first – lack of adequate accommodation and perils of long commuting between hotels and venues.
“There have been issues initially but we have solved them,” Sahdev said during a brief interaction. He confirmed that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had sent their invoice and requirements to the organizing committee but they had reduced the numbers. “We had sent our quota but they felt we had more athletes and officials than their quota,” he said. But there is no need to panic at all is what he said. “We have booked hotels and all the players have been accommodated.”
Not just the accommodation, the shooting team had reservations about their transport and commuting time. One shooting coach had told this daily that arranging logistics was a nightmare initially but when everything was solved, commuting turned into a headache. But deputy chef de mission and former Asian Games medallist Anjali Bhagwat said that the commuting part also has been taken care of. “Initially, we thought it would be a problem but later we realized that we can commute in less time,” she said. “So, it should not be a problem.”
The IOA has also booked enough rooms outside so that no player or official is affected. “We have booked 18 hotel rooms immediately after the organising committee informed us that they cannot provide rooms for all our athletes,” said Yadav. “Despite rising demands in Nagoya, we booked it within a day.”
The chef de mission informed that double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and Asian Games gold medal winner Tajinderpal Singh Toor would be India’s flag bearers.
The container rooms that attracted quite an attention before the Games stood there with mostly officials staying in them. Most of the athletes representing India have been accommodated in the cruise ship and various hotels strewn across the city. For them, like one of the athletes very rightly said, it is the sport that matters. But at the same time one cannot ignore rest and recovery – the crucial tenet for success in sports. The next 17 days would see some intense contests on the field. In the end, it will be sports that should come out victorious.