Chaos, tepid public interest at Asian Games so far, but things will heat up when it counts

Hong Kong team among those hit by issues such as housing, but the enlarged multi-sport event will see its share of world-class competition

The Asian Games open in Japan on Saturday, against a backdrop of complaints over athlete accommodation, venues that have leaked under record rainfall, and a host city still at odds with the Olympic Council of Asia over the ballooning number of those taking part.

Chaos has been the theme in the week before the opening ceremony, with transport data errors at Nagoya airport leaving teams stranded for hours without food, while basketball players who did manage to get to their rooms found themselves forced to bed down in converted containers that barely held their two-metre (seven-feet) frames.

Hong Kong’s delegation has not been spared either, with the table tennis teams sent to different accommodation when they arrived on Thursday.

The players and coach Liu Guodong of the men’s team were sent to the newly arrived Costa Serena cruise ship, which will house some 4,000 competitors over the next two weeks, as was women’s coach Zhang Rui.