Organisers pulled up over food and transport issues

Going from one venue to another has been a problem for athletes and the media over the last few days at the Asian Games here.

The media had to wait for nearly two hours for the official vehicle at the Yeorumul Squash Complex on Sunday evening after the matches there to get back to the main press centre. And the officials in charge of transport at the venue had no clue about what was happening and of little help too. Language is a big hurdle as very few speak English here.

It has now emerged that a massive food poisoning scare has hit the Games.

It was reported on Monday that organisers prevented a potential mass outbreak of food poisoning after salmonella bacteria was detected in lunch boxes prepared for athletes. The bacteria was detected by South Korean food safety inspectors, who screen athletes’ food provided by authorised caterers, in meat included in boxed meals provided by a caterer.

Shooters, fencers, weightlifters and sepak takraw players were among those who had asked for packed meals. Despite India having a sizeable number of athletes in these disciplines here, none have been affected, though life without proper dal and other Indian dishes have disappointed our athletes.

“None of our athletes have been affected. So far so good, but keep your fingers crossed,” Adille Sumariwalla, the chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent, told The Hindu here on Monday night. “There seems to be one case (of bacteria detected in food packets). They (the Incheon Asian Games organisers) are so finicky on quality, I’m very surprised. They have thrown everything out.”

Sumariwalla, who stays at the Athletes Village, revealed that a meeting of the chefs-de-mission was held on Monday over food and transport issues.

“We really pulled them up and they had an emergency meeting to improve the quality of food and transport. We’ll know day after tomorrow, every alternate day there’s a chefs-de-mission meeting.”

Transport has also been a problem for athletes. “Transport is an issue, we are pushing for more frequency. Not enough vehicles have been pushed into service. Even the media’s vehicle problem was reported at the meeting,” he said.