NAGOYA, Japan, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) acknowledged that the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games had faced various operational challenges, but said Sunday that the Games had ultimately provided athletes with the necessary conditions to compete and perform at their best.
"There is no Games without challenges," said Mohammad Tayyab Ikram, chair of the OCA Coordination Committee for the 2026 Asian Games, at a press conference on the final day of the Games. "The way we handled the challenges should be more important to highlight."
Ikram said the OCA had heard concerns and complaints over certain aspects of the Games' operations, but emphasized that the focus should remain on how such challenges were addressed and whether athletes were provided with the best possible conditions in terms of logistics and other services.
He said the OCA's priority was to put athletes at the center of its work and continue improving the assistance and facilities available to them. "This edition of Games was different. It was a different model," Ikram said, referring in particular to the decision not to build a traditional athletes' village.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games adopted a distributed accommodation model, with athletes staying in containers, cruise ships and hotels rather than in a purpose-built village. "It was difficult to understand when this model was proposed, but we now have a good practice. Maybe other Games will look at it," he said.
Ikram also highlighted security as an important feature of the Games, saying the OCA had sought to ensure safe conditions for athletes and other stakeholders throughout the event. He said the organization would continue to focus on improving conditions and services for athletes.
OCA Director General Husain Al Musallam, meanwhile, pointed to the performances achieved at the Games as evidence that athletes had been provided with a suitable competition environment.
"Numbers are facts," Al Musallam said, noting the large number of world and Asian records set during the Games. He stressed that athletes could not perform at their best without adequate support.
"The athletes cannot perform if they don't sleep well. The athletes cannot perform if they don't have transportation. The athletes cannot perform if they don't have good health care. They cannot perform if they don't eat good," he said. "These achievements do not come without the best environment that the organizing committee created for the athletes."
Al Musallam said the distributed accommodation model could also help reduce the additional burden on host cities associated with constructing and maintaining a large athletes' village, provided that athletes' conditions and Games experience were not compromised.
He described the approach as a potentially successful model for future major sporting events, saying it could avoid leaving behind large facilities that might become "white elephants" after the Games.
The two officials praised the organizing committee, local authorities, volunteers and other partners for their contribution to the Games, saying their cooperation had been essential to addressing operational challenges.
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which began on Sept. 19, will conclude on Sunday night after bringing together thousands of athletes from across Asia to compete in 43 disciplines. ■
