"Worst Ever" and Chaotic to the End... Jeers Pour Out in the End

[Anchor]

This tournament was marred by such sloppy and amateurish management that it was hard to believe it was hosted by a leading global nation. Even at the awards ceremony where our football team should have enjoyed the thrill of victory, an absurd incident occurred where the Taegeukgi, the South Korean flag, was not properly hoisted.

Continuing our coverage, here is reporter Lee Seonghun.

[Reporter]

As the men's national football team, having achieved a fourth consecutive victory, is soaked in emotion singing the national anthem atop the podium, the Taegeukgi, which should rise the highest, fails to be hoisted.

Staff members appear flustered as if they failed to rehearse properly, unable to raise the flag. While our players wear bewildered expressions, the spectators rain down jeers toward the organizers.

From immigration procedures, meals, accommodations, transportation, laundry, to training facilities, even the most basic operations of an international event were handled poorly, drawing criticism from athletes and media across Asia. Yet, right up to the final moment, the event was tainted by an incident that should never have happened.

[Yoo Seung-min / President of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee: I think this is probably the tournament where we sent the most letters of protest and lodged the most complaints with the organizing committee. Rather, I think we've received a bit of a wake-up call that we need to better prepare for upcoming world-class events in the future.]

Having worked as a sports journalist for 27 years, I have covered five Olympic Games, three World Cups, and five Asian Games on-site.

Yet, there has never been a case with as many instances of operational disruption as this one.

Even more surprising is the attitude of the organizers.

Until the middle of the tournament, the organizing committee consistently avoided mentioning the operational disruptions or offered detached excuses shifting blame onto subcontractors. Even at the closing press conference today (the 4th), they patted themselves on the back, claiming it was the "greatest tournament ever."

Japan lowered the prestige of the tournament itself by sending second- and third-string players instead of top athletes in most events of this home-hosted competition, consequently bringing upon itself the worst box office slump in history.

To restore the diminished prestige of the Asian Games, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is pushing to postpone the next Doha Games by one year to 2031—just ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics—and tie them to Olympic qualification spots for each sport. However, it remains unclear whether the plunging status of the tournament can be fully recovered.

(Photo: Yonhap News / Video reporting: Choe Dae-woong, Video editing: Park Jung-sam, Design: Kim Min-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.