New bug attack clouds Games opening

New bug attack clouds Games opening

BANGKOK (Reuters): The Asian Games -- the unlucky 13th -- open
in Bangkok on Sunday with Thailand's crippling economic recession
on harsh display but organizers hoping the "Asian Way" of
compromise gets them through the next two weeks.

On the eve of the Games, the event was hit by a new insect
plague and a transport strike that had threatened athlete
training was narrowly averted.

Mongolia's soccer team had its own problems even before the
opening ceremony when it went down to a Games record 15-0 defeat
to defending champion Uzbekistan in a qualifying round match.

Bug spray, an army of workers, much bending of rules and even
King Bhumibol Adulyadej came to the rescue in the last hours
before the start of the Dec. 6-Dec. 20 Games.

The extra bug spray was deployed when insects invaded the
gymnastics hall after earlier swarming over swimming pools.

"After dark, as soon as we put the lights on, the mosquitoes
attack," said Iranian gymnastics coach Mohammad Azarpay.

Thailand's reputation is not the only thing at stake during
the Games, which are the last major sporting event in Asia this
century, involving 41 nations and nearly 7,000 athletes.

The future shape of the tournament is also under scrutiny.

There will be competition in 36 sports, with inclusion for the
first time of sports like rugby union and snooker.

But many officials want a leaner and meaner Games to take
advantage of millions of dollars in sponsorship and television
rights now available for international sports.

They say that to reach the pot of gold the Asian Games needs
to clean up its act.

They argue it must drop past attitudes of leaving things until
the last minute and being more concerned about giving everyone a
chance to compete and win a medal than putting on a
professionally run sporting extravaganza.

The debate involves issues like setting minimum performance
standards for entries, doing away with sports that do not have
wide public appeal and penalties for teams that pull out of
competitions at the last minute.

"We are at a crossroads in these Games," said Santiparb
Tejavanija, the senior organizer of this year's Games. "Thailand
will be a case study for the future of the Games."

Saudi Arabia's last minute withdrawal, late decisions by
countries to pull out of some sports and non-arrival of entry
forms have played havoc with scheduling arrangements so vital for
sponsors and television coverage.

State of affairs

Many outsiders are baffled at the state of affairs, given
Thailand's experience in hosting three previous Asian Games.

Unfinished road links threaten traffic, the pitch of the main
soccer stadium has been called unplayable, and equestrians fear
horses could be crippled by conditions at their arenas.

Frequent changes of government, murky Bangkok politics,
allegations of graft and corruption as well as the Asian economic
crisis are blamed as reasons for the chaos.

The inactivity was such three years ago there were even some
calls for the Games to be taken away from Thailand.

Financial troubles dogged the Games until the final hours.

Drivers of a fleet of motor tricycles assigned to transport
athletes and officials between venues briefly went on strike on
Saturday complaining they had not been paid for two weeks.

They returned to work when money came through after phone
calls to Games organizers from team officials angry that athletes
could not get in last-minute training.

Bangkok's notorious traffic is still the biggest headache.

In a bid to help avoid gridlock, King Bhumibol has rearranged
his arrival and departure times at the Sunday night opening
ceremony so it does not coincide with peak times.

Games organizers say all 60,000 tickets have been taken up for
the opening ceremony but nearly half of them appear to be free
passes for VIPs, leaving many ticketless fans disgruntled.

There have also been wide complaints about spectators not
receiving tickets even though they have paid up front for them.

On the sports front, China, both the star and the shame of the
last Games in Hiroshima, will bid to surpass its haul of 137
golds in 1994. The Chinese have been Asian Games champions since
1982.

They have the only world record holders in the glamour
swimming and track and field events and are also looking for a
medal bonanza in weightlifting and gymnastics.

However for China's sporting reputation, a drug-free Games is
more important than any number of medals.

In Hiroshima, 11 Chinese failed drug tests, two of them
swimming world champions. The taint followed China to this year's
World Swimming Championships where it was involved in four more
doping cases.

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