Asian Games: ‘Static’ accommodation requested for Indian athletes

NEW DELHI: India will request the organisers of next year’s Asian Games in Japan to accommodate its athletes participating in ‘static or stable’ sports such as shooting, archery and weightlifting in shipping containers or hotels rather than in a luxury cruise ship, which will act as a ‘floating’ athletes village, to avoid lingering swaying ahead of their competition rounds.

The request emerged during a meeting of the Asian Games review committee, formed by the sports ministry earlier this month.TOI has learnt that the Aichi-Nagoya Asiad’s organisers will be requested to avoid accommodating contingent members in static sports on a docked cruise liner, as that might cause athletes to experience dizziness, imbalance or nausea requiring time to readjust their land legs during the competition rounds. For the 2026 Games (Sept 19 to Oct 4), Japan has replaced the concept of a traditional Games Village with accommodation on the Costa Serena, a luxury cruise liner, and converted shipping containers to cut costs and introduce innovation. The cruise ship will house around 4,600 athletes and staff, while another 2,400 participants will stay in temporary shelters made from shipping containers. “This concern was raised by committee members, who said that accommodating athletes in static sports on a floating cruise liner could create adjustment problems for them when they disembark on land the next day for their competition matches. This might cause acclimitisation issues. The concern was specifically for shooting and archery sports,” a committee member said.