OCA tells India and national federations to stick to Asian Games contingent limits in Aichi-Nagoya
The Olympic Council of Asia has advised India and other national sports bodies to adhere to prescribed contingent limits for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, scheduled for September 19 to October 4. The notice follows warnings from local organisers that accommodation in the host region cannot exceed 15,000 participants.
India has cleared 492 athletes for the Games, while the composition and size of its support staff remain under discussion. "The support staff is still being worked out because some federations have not named any sports science experts in their recommendations. The list has been sent back to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and it will take a few more days. But yes, an advisory has also come which mandates that the contingent sizes not exceed the prescribed limit," a Sports Authority of India (SAI) source told PTI. The OCA said it had been granting several "daily requests" from member nations to add athletes after the nominations deadline, but the advisory says late additions will not be accepted.
Rules limit support staff to 33 per cent of an athletes' contingent, which, based on India's current athlete total, would cap its support personnel at not more than 162 unless the OCA relaxes the threshold. "The cap on support staff cannot be exceeded and though federations would want several to go with even small squads, they have been asked to cut the numbers and ensure that there is adequate medical staff to assist athletes," the SAI source added.
The OCA acknowledged that the present number of athletes and officials "significantly" exceeds the 15,000 mark, prompting a public response from the hosts. "We cannot accommodate this. We have made arrangements and budgets based on the host city contract's capacity of 15,000 people, so we cannot accommodate more than that. There is no physical place for them to stay, so I wonder what they will do," Governor of Aichi Prefecture, Hideaki Omura, was quoted as saying by 'insidethegames.com'.
Nagoya, the capital of Aichi prefecture and the fourth largest city in Japan, will stage events across 43 disciplines, including cricket, aquatics, hockey, wrestling and archery. India is entered in 35 disciplines, with athletics providing the largest single-sport contingent of 73 athletes.
Organisers have opted not to build a traditional Games Village and have arranged alternative accommodation in container-style huts and on a cruise ship that will be docked at Nagoya port. The ship is expected to house nearly 5,000 athletes and about 2,400 more will be lodged in container huts; the organisers plan to repurpose these facilities as disaster shelters after the Games.
The OCA has indicated it will only permit replacements rather than additional entries because of the limited accommodation, and the returned support-staff lists sent to the IOA are expected to take a few more days to finalise.