The 20th Asian Games closed in Nagoya on Sunday, October 4, after 16 days of competition that produced a flood of records — and an unusually frank admission from organisers that much went wrong.
China dominates the medal table
China finished top of the standings with 169 gold medals, ahead of hosts Japan with 83. South Korea won one of the most-watched finals, beating Japan 1-0 in the men’s football gold-medal match. More than 17,000 athletes and officials took part in the Games, which opened on September 19 — a larger contingent than at the Olympics.
Olympic Council of Asia director general Husain Al-Musallam said 50 world records had been broken. “Numbers are facts,” he said.
Stars of the Games
- Yu Zidi (China), aged just 13, won three golds in Games-record times — the 200m butterfly and the 200m and 400m individual medley — and was named the Games’ most valuable player.
- Shin Ohashi (Japan), 17, broke the men’s 200m breaststroke world record.
- Ri Song Gum (North Korea) set three world marks in a single day of weightlifting.
- Puripol Boonson (Thailand), 20, completed the 100m and 200m sprint double and was named men’s MVP.
- Yuki Kurihara (Japan) won an eSports title at 11 to become the youngest champion of the Games.
India beat Pakistan in the cricket final, while padel, mixed martial arts and virtual taekwondo made their Asian Games debuts.
Beds, buses and empty seats
To save money, organisers did not build a traditional athletes’ village. Competitors were housed in temporary wooden units, on the cruise ship Costa Serena and in hotels. Several teams complained of cramped rooms, beds that were too short and too few beds overall; one Thai official compared the scramble to “musical chairs.”
There were other embarrassments. North Korea’s anthem was played for South Korea’s hockey team, South Korea’s flag failed to rise at the football victory ceremony, some athletes’ buses were late or never arrived, and two teams were sent to the wrong venue, delaying a volleyball match. Rain disrupted several days of athletics.
Crowds were thin: the opening ceremony had thousands of empty seats, and only 998 people attended the women’s football semi-final between Japan and South Korea in a 50,000-seat stadium.
Japanese Olympic Committee president Seiko Hashimoto acknowledged that “there were many problems,” but said Japan still wants to host major international events. Korean Sport and Olympic Committee president Ryu Seung-min was blunter, giving the Games an “F”.
Next stop: Doha 2030
At the closing ceremony, OCA president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani handed the council’s flag to Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, ahead of the 2030 Asian Games in Doha.