"Is This Where Athletes Stay?" Complaints Arise Despite Clearing Flood Damage

[Anchor]

The opening of the Asian Games in Nagoya, Asia's premier sports festival, is now just five days away. While major flooding in Nagoya last week raised concerns over disruptions to the event, the city has been thoroughly cleaned up and is in the final stages of preparation. However, a much bigger problem lies in the accommodations prepared for the athletes.

Reporter Yu Byeongmin has the story from the location.

[Reporter]

Last week's record-breaking downpour in Nagoya caused flooding in various parts of the city and water leaks in stadium roofs, raising concerns over disruptions to event preparations.

Five days later, the area has been restored so completely that it is hard to believe it was ever hit by a disaster.

Event logos plastered across the city, including Nagoya's iconic television tower, are building up excitement for the Games.

[Masaki / Nagoya Resident: You can definitely feel the excitement because when you ride the subway, there are ads saying the Games are taking place. I think Japan will do well.]

Promoting cost-cutting, eco-friendly, and sustainable games, this tournament features many differences from past events.

The Aichi Arena, where the South Korea-Japan men's basketball match was won yesterday (September 13), is the only newly built stadium, while the rest of the events will be held across existing venues throughout Japan, including Nagoya, Tokyo, and Osaka.

With no athletes' village built, athletes will be dispersed across temporary wooden container buildings, a cruise ship docking tomorrow (September 15), and hotels in the city.

Complaints are pouring in from athletes of various countries over the cramped container accommodations, which are hard to believe are meant for elite athletes. With even the number of rooms falling short, the organizing committee scrambled today (September 14) to secure additional rooms at downtown hotels to contain the backlash.

---

Our national athletes are preparing for the decisive matches without wavering.

The modern pentathlon team, a strong contender for South Korea's first gold medal, arrived yesterday (September 13) and has begun on-site adaptation training.

[Jeon Woong-tae / National Modern Pentathlon Team Member for the Asian Games: We came here to do what athletes do best, of course, and I want to say my confidence for a gold medal is at a full 100%.]

[Jeon Woong-tae & Seong Seung-min / National Modern Pentathlon Team Members for the Asian Games: South Korean modern pentathlon, fighting!]

The women's volleyball team, facing its first match the day after tomorrow (September 16), has pledged to restore its honor after leaving Hangzhou without a medal, diving straight into intense training from day one.

Although the opening ceremony is still five days away, the festival of 4.5 billion Asians in sports has already begun.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video Reported by Kim Se-kyung | Video Edited by So Ji-hye | Design by Hwang Se-yeon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.