Around 15,000 athletes and officials, including Indian cricket star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, are heading to Japan for the Asian Games featuring unique accommodation from cruise ships to container huts.
The Asian Games are set to begin in Japan in a month's time, bringing together around 15,000 competitors and officials across Nagoya and the wider Aichi area from September 19 to October 4. Returning to Japan for the first time since 1994, the event features teenage prodigies and more athletes than the Olympics.
Indian cricket prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be among the featured stars after announcing himself as a major new talent in world cricket. The teen star will be aiming to win gold for India at Japan's newly built cricket ground. Other notable athletes competing include rising star Eala and swimmer Yu, who set a new women's 200m individual medley Asian record last year.
To cut costs, organisers have arranged temporary accommodation ranging from standard hotel rooms to the Italian cruise ship Costa Serena. Additionally, 2,000 athletes and officials will stay in wooden shipping container-style huts in Nagoya's Garden Pier area. Officials are confident that these plans will not be disrupted by Japan's typhoon season.
Kazuhiro Yagi, vice-secretary general of the Aichi-Nagoya Games organising committee, stated that preparations are now in their final stages. He noted that the committee will continue working as one right until the last moment, adding that the atmosphere surrounding the Games is 'gradually becoming palpable.'
Reporting sourced from The Hindu Sport. Photo courtesy The Hindu Sport.