Rain-hit Asian Games battle scheduling logjam
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Tennis, surfing and cricket were among sports hit by poor weather on Day 9 of full competition at the Asian Games.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Persistent rain disrupted multiple sports including tennis, surfing, and cricket at the Asian Games, causing match cancellations and delays on Day 9.
- Cricket quarter-finals between Pakistan-Hong Kong and India-Afghanistan were washed out; Pakistan and India advanced by ranking, disappointing Afghanistan's team.
- Typhoons and poor weather threaten further disruptions as the Games continue until Oct 4, affecting events across Nagoya, Tokyo, and Osaka venues.
AI generated
NAGOYA – Asian Games organisers faced multiple scheduling headaches on Sept 28, as persistent rain disrupted several competitions at the sprawling multi-sport event.
Tennis, surfing and cricket were among sports hit by poor weather on Day 9 of full competition.
Both the men’s cricket quarter-finals between Pakistan and Hong Kong as well as between India and Afghanistan were washed out after the playing field was drenched at Korogi Athletic Park on the outskirts of Nagoya.
With no contingency built into the schedule, Pakistan and India advanced to the semi-finals of the T20 tournament by virtue of their higher ranking.
It was a bitter pill for Afghanistan, who saw the gold medal go to India because of the rankings rule in 2023 when their Hangzhou Games final was abandoned owing to rain.
“The rain started yesterday, so hard luck for us,” said Afghanistan opener Mohammad Akram.
“We would have been happy to play here with India – our players are in form. But unfortunately, the rain has ruined everything.”
Powerful typhoon Surigae lashed Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Sept 28 and was projected to track north-east towards central Japan and the Tokyo region by midweek, raising the prospect of strong winds and heavy rain further disrupting the Games.
Typhoon Dujuan hit the Games early on Week 1, causing equestrian events in Tokyo to be suspended, though most competitions were unaffected.
The continental sporting showpiece is mainly based in the city of Nagoya and Aichi prefecture, but Tokyo is also hosting diving events while Osaka has football matches.
The rain saw several tennis matches scrapped on Sept 27 and caused match delays on Sept 28.
Fans hoping to catch Filipino headliner Alexandra Eala’s opening match against Thai opponent Patcharin Cheapchandej were repeatedly frustrated at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Centre.
Eala, the women’s top seed, had her match moved away from centre court amid the scheduling logjam, and she eventually posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchande.
Poor wave conditions saw the surfing event called off early at the Long Beach venue south-east of Nagoya, with medal finals having already been pushed into the final scheduled day on Sept 29.
India’s Kishore Kumar Anbarasu was able to complete his heat before it was abandoned, beating China’s Ma Wensong to make it into the quarter-finals on the sport’s Asian Games debut.
“It was not the easiest conditions. It was very hard to find the good waves,” said Anbarasu.
Meanwhile, complaints of logistical mismanagement continued to mount at the Games on Sept 28, with Pakistan volleyball captain Murad Jehan saying his team were taken to the wrong venue ahead of their Pool A match against Uzbekistan.
A glum-looking Jehan took to Instagram to vent his frustration at what he termed “another mismanagement” at the Games.
“We have a very important match and the bus driver doesn’t know which gymnasium we are going to play,” he said in a video from the bus.
“He took a wrong way and came to a wrong gymnasium and now we are short of time. It’s an embarrassing situation,” he added. “We did not expect this from Japan. This should not have happened.”
Games organisers did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Jehan said the detour left the squad with no time for a proper warm-up, forcing players to change into their playing kit on the moving bus.
“Really disappointing situation. This is not the only mismanagement that athletes are facing here,” he said, adding food was not always available to athletes at dining areas following their training sessions.
Pakistan brushed off the disruption once they reached the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium, cruising to their second successive victory with a 3-0 win over the Uzbeks.
On Sept 26, the Games’ chief organiser apologised for widespread logistical glitches, explaining that a late influx of approximately 2,000 additional athletes and team officials had overwhelmed operational planning.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games run until Oct 4. REUTERS