Preparations for Asiad going well

Preparations for Asiad going well

BANGKOK (AFP): The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is satisfied with ongoing preparations for the 13th Asian Games to be staged in Bangkok in December 1998 despite some concerns about meeting the deadline, Thai dailies reported yesterday.

Although traffic jams, the scheduling of events, dope-testing facilities and even the standard of English used in programs and brochures for the Asiad are still a worry, OCA President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabah was impressed by progress to date.

"I have seen some clear advancement and now I am quite confident that Thailand will be an excellent host for the Asian Games," OCA President, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Sabahhe was quoted as saying at the end of a two-day mission here.

His trip included a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa.

His response was in stark contrast to the unfavorable evaluation mission in December 1995, when the OCA threatened to withdraw the Games from Thailand.

The OCA had been unhappy with progress in preparations by authorities in the six years since the Games were awarded to Thailand.

But the Chairman of the OCA's Sports Committee, China's Wei Jizhong, still expressed misgivings about the program of events prepared by the Bangkok Organizing Committee for the Asiad.

According to the Bangkok Post, he criticized plans to schedule the finals of 13 events on a single day, Dec. 18, and also the size of the venues for some events.

Holding so many finals on one day would "kill the interest these exciting disciplines enjoy," the Post reported Wei Jizhong as saying.

Delegates of the OCA are due to visit Thailand again in September for a further evaluation mission. A complete list of events for the Asiad, which may include two new sports, rugby and snooker, will be decided in December.