OCA Director General Husain Al: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) acknowledged that the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games had faced several operational challenges, but said Sunday that they had ultimately given athletes the conditions they needed to compete and perform at their best.
Mohammad Tayyab Ikram, chair of the OCA Coordination Committee for the 2026 Asian Games, said the OCA had heard concerns and complaints about certain aspects of the Games' operations. He emphasised, however, that the focus should remain on how those challenges were addressed and whether athletes received the best possible conditions in terms of logistics and other services.
"There is no Games without challenges. The way we handled the challenges should be more important to highlight,” Ikram said, at a press conference on the final day of the Games, as per Xinhua.
He said the OCA's priority was to put athletes first and keep improving the support and facilities available to them. "This edition of Games was different. It was a different model," Ikram said, referring in particular to the decision not to build a traditional athletes' village.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games used a distributed accommodation model, housing athletes in containers, cruise ships and hotels instead of a purpose-built village. "It was difficult to understand when this model was proposed, but we now have a good practice. Maybe other Games will look at it," he said.
Ikram also emphasised security as a key feature of the Games, noting that the OCA had worked to ensure safe conditions for athletes and other stakeholders throughout the event. He added that the organisation would continue improving conditions and services for athletes.
Meanwhile, OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam cited the performances at the Games as evidence that athletes had been given a suitable competition environment.
"Numbers are facts," Al Musallam said, noting the large number of world and Asian records set during the Games. He stressed that athletes could not perform at their best without adequate support.
"The athletes cannot perform if they don't sleep well. The athletes cannot perform if they don't have transportation. The athletes cannot perform if they don't have good health care. They cannot perform if they don't eat good," he said. "These achievements do not come without the best environment that the organising committee created for the athletes."
Al Musallam said the distributed accommodation model could also ease the added burden on host cities of building and maintaining a large athletes' village, as long as athletes' conditions and Games experience were not compromised.
He described the approach as a promising model for future major sporting events, saying it could prevent large facilities from being left behind as "white elephants" after the Games.
The two officials praised the organising committee, local authorities, volunteers, and other partners for their contributions to the Games, noting that their cooperation was essential in addressing operational challenges.
He described the approach as a promising model for future major sporting events, saying it could prevent large facilities from being left behind as "white elephants" after the Games.
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Article Source: IANS