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.