Asian Games get praise from Samaranch
Posted: Monday December 07, 1998 10:35 AM
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Korea's Chan Ho Park is competing in the Asian Games AP |
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- International Olympic Committee
president Juan Antonio Samaranch gave Bangkok a glowing report
Monday for its work as host of the Asian Games.
That's not surprising, considering Samaranch wanders the globe
bestowing compliments on Olympic committees like a proud father.
Samaranch, who called the organizational nightmare of Atlanta
1996 a "most exceptional" Olympics, had high praise for the
regional games, which are in their 13th edition here.
"I watched the opening ceremony last night and I was really
surprised. Surprised because the opening ceremony was really one of
the best I have seen in my life," said Samaranch, who has seen
plenty. "It was full of art and good taste and I'm very pleased to
honor today the organizing committee of the games, the Thai Olympic
Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia."
Samaranch took a tour around the athletes' village and venues
Monday after spending the night at a colorful and entertaining
opening ceremony.
Throughout Bangkok there are signs of an
economic crisis that
has curbed construction and squeezed the budget for these games.
Pillars stand in line, waiting for the highway to be placed on
top. The tennis court has hard concrete instead of seats, and the
direct journey from main press center to center court is through
scrubland.
As in Atlanta, the results system is poor, but in an improvement
the bus drivers seem to know where they are going. In many ways it
is the patchwork games, especially compared to the excellent
performance of Kuala Lumpur, host to the recent Commonwealth Games
in a similar economic climate.
The current Asian Games have some 6,000 athletes from 41 nations
competing for 377 gold medals in 36 sports.
"At this moment, the Asian Games, maybe, I will say maybe, is
the most important sports competition after the Olympic Games,"
Samaranch said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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